The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, stated that Nigeria will sell off some of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) and Nigeria LNG Limited’s (NLNG) oil and gas assets to help revive the country’s economy, with an expected yield of $10b, reported All Africa.

Emefiele said: ” at April 2015 I had opined that there was need for the government to scale down or sell off some of its investments in oil and gas, particularly in the NNPC and NLNG as at that time when the price of oil was around $50-$55 per barrel.” He added that Nigeria commissioned some consultants to study the proposal who advised that the country to  10% to 15% of their holding in the oil and gas sector. At the time, the sale was estimated to make up to $40b, according to The Cable.

Emefiele’s comments concurred with those of Nigerian businessman and owner of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, who advised the country to sell national assets instead of resorting to loans from the World Bank or IMF. It is noted that the group ventured into Nigeria’s oil and gas industry in 2015 with the construction of one of the largest refineries in Africa.