Nigerian Economy and Privatization of Public Enterprises

Abstract

Public Enterprises are business organizations set up and financed by the government to provide essential services to the members of the public. They may be set up by the Federal, State, or Local governments. The public enterprises are controlled by the government: Though the ministers and commissioners, the government appoints members of the board of directors, who turn employ empty managers to run the business. Unlike most businesses which have the primary motive of making profit, public enterprises are set up to provide essential services to the public at affordable prices. In recent times, government has undertaken privatization of public enterprises perhaps because of the operational ineffectiveness that characterized public enterprises. The central question that beg for an answer is has privatization brought improvement in the Nigerian economy. The focus of this research is to attempt to answer such critical question with a view to proferming useful recommendations as way forward. Historical descriptive approach was adopted as method of data collection. The research findings reveals a contradiction of government action at privatization