The immediate past Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises ( BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, has thanked Nigeria and Nigerians for giving the opportunity to serve his fatherland.
Okoh was on Monday relieved of his position by the President, Bola Tinubu.
Reacting to the news on his Facebook page, the former BPE boss said that it has been an incredible experience working in government for the past six years and eight months.
According to him, “When my attention was called by a friend, to a news item about the decision of Mr. President with regard to my exit from the Bureau of Public Enterprises. I was initially quite disturbed by the tone of the news publication, but delighted that the mode of the exit has now been clarified to remove any connotation on my integrity.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve my country in the space of privatization and economic reforms. I thank the extremely professional young men and women at the Bureau of Public Enterprises for their commitment to the ideals of efficient optimisation of public assets and Government Owned Enterprises.
“I am certain that posterity will deliver a decent verdict on the various projects and reforms that we delivered across key sectors of the economy, and more importantly on the high sense of integrity with which they were delivered.
“Finally, I am grateful to God for the opportunity, and quite elated to have served the nation without blemish.”
Okoh was appointed DG, BPE in April 2017, by former President Muhammadu Buhari who also renewed the appointment for a second term in 2021.
One of Okoh’s notable accomplishments was the successful execution of a comprehensive privatization strategy. Under his leadership, several state-owned enterprises were strategically divested, injecting new life into the private sector and creating a competitive market.
Below are some of BEE’s accomplishments under his watch:
Core investor sale of 60% shares of Yola Electricity Distribution Company
Core investor sale of Afam Power Plc and Afam Three Fast Power Limited
Core investor sale of 20% shares of Geregu Power Plc
Concession of Warri Old Terminal Port
Core investor sale of Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Plc
Asset sale of Mineral House
Asset sale of Makeri house
Privatization of Omotosho Power Plant (up to financial bid opening)
Privatization of Oloronsogo Power Plant (up to financial bid opening)
Privatization of Ihobvor Power Plant (up to financial bid opening)
Privatization of Calabar NIPP Power Plant (up to financial bid opening)
Privatization of Geregu NIPP Power Plant (up to financial bid opening)
Concession of Zungeru Hydropower Plant
He also oversaw the successful closure of share sale and asset transfer of the Aba Ring Fenced Area to Geometric, Aba Power Limited from Interstate Electric
Oversaw the origination of the Presidential Power Initiative (also known as the Siemens Deal), culminating in the operationalization of FGN Power Company Limited
Member of the Presidential Working Group on Power Chaired by the Vice President of Nigeria, saddled with the responsibility of executing the Power Sector Recovery Program and reforming the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry.
Alex Okoh’s tenure was marked by a series of groundbreaking initiatives to promote public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Nigeria.
He facilitated strategic collaborations between the public and private sectors as well as with Development Finance Institutions, leading to the creation of a portfolio of critical infrastructure projects across the country to be procured via PPP.