Chief Executive Officer of Economic Associates, Dr Ayo Teriba, has cautioned the Federal Government against outright sale of state-owned assets to plug Nigeria’s widening 2026 budget deficit, urging instead a comprehensive programme of asset securitisation to unlock value without relinquishing ownership.
Speaking in an interview with Arise News on Sunday Teriba argued that selling assets to raise cash would barely dent a projected deficit of over ₦25 trillion and would amount to “losing our sense of proportion.”
“If we are saying that where we are going to get money to fund a deficit of ₦24 trillion is selling assets — and the language ‘sale of assets’ is usually used by accountants, not by economists — then we are losing our sense of proportion,” he said. “We talk about asset securitisation.”
Teriba began by challenging what he described as a fundamental misconception in the budget debate.
“You say Nigeria wants to spend ₦58 trillion. That’s not correct. The Federal Government of Nigeria wants to spend ₦58 trillion. The Federal Government is not synonymous with Nigeria,” he said.
He argued that failure to distinguish between “federation” and “federal” revenues is at the heart of the fiscal crisis.
“The federation has revenue agencies; the federal has no revenue agency. The federation collects revenue and pays it into the Federation Account, which is shared among three parties, of which the federal government is just one. Yet the federal government has a larger-than-life appropriation without sufficient distinction between what is for federation purposes and what is for federal purposes. That is what is killing the federal budget.”
According to him, the National Assembly focuses almost exclusively on expenditure while neglecting revenue generation.
“Budget has two sides: revenue and spending. All the Senate and House talk about is spending. Nobody is talking about where the revenue will come from. You assume the president will do magic.”
Addressing reports that government plans to dispose of up to 91 state assets, Teriba clarified that the Bureau of Public Enterprises had merely referenced assets listed under the National Council on Privatisation Act.
“He is not saying they will sell them. There are many things they can do. They can commercialise some, privatise some, and in a very minority of cases, liquidate for sale,” he explained.
But he warned against outright disposal.
“I do think that the National Assembly should make a proclamation that none of our assets is for sale.”
Instead, he advocated leasing, concessioning and securitising assets.
“You can lease it, you can rent it, you can concession it. Asset securitisation gives you the opportunity to eat your cake and have it,” he said. “Companies lease their assets to raise money, and when they no longer need the money, they repurchase them. That is what Nigeria should do.”
Teriba argued that Nigeria’s state-owned enterprises and real estate holdings are effectively valued at zero because they are not listed or market-tested.
“Take your state-owned enterprises to the market. Kenya is taking all its SOEs to the market. Saudi Arabia listed 2% of Aramco and discovered the company was worth $2 trillion. Prior to that, the value on their balance sheet was zero.”
He continued: “Nobody talks about what Nigeria owns; they only talk about what Nigeria owes.”
He listed three categories of assets that could be financialised which are State-owned enterprises, including NNPC and other public corporation, Real estate holdings, including federal secretariats and military barracks in prime locations and Infrastructure assets, such as airport terminals, rail and maritime facilities.
“Federal secretariats have been locked up for over a decade. The National Stadium in Lagos, the one in Abuja — zero income. And you are borrowing and taxing people,” he said.
“If you give them out to developers who pay you a fraction of the rent they generate, that is asset securitisation. One day the concession expires and full ownership reverts to you.”
Teriba stressed that asset financialisation cannot succeed without institutional reform.
“Neither chamber of the National Assembly has a committee on revenue. None has a committee on investment. They should have a joint bicameral committee on revenue and investment,” he said.
“There are no laws for federal revenue. You only have federation revenue managers. You have no federal revenue manager. Until that changes, you cannot blame anybody for lack of federal revenue or foreign direct investment.”
Turning to inflation, Teriba expressed cautious optimism that Nigeria could return to single-digit inflation, citing exchange rate appreciation as a positive signal.
“The most concerning component of the CPI basket is food. As of December it was still elevated, but for January we expect it to drop to single digits,” he said.
“The headline index that was around 15% as of December will probably drop to about 12%, and hopefully thereafter to single digits.”
He added: “When currency appreciates, inflation decelerates. When currency depreciates, inflation accelerates. With an appreciating exchange rate, you should expect further deceleration of inflation.”
Summing up his position, Teriba said the core problem is a culture of spending without productivity.
“Everybody is sitting, waiting, telling the National Assembly, ‘I didn’t get the money you promised me last year,’ and they still want money this year. Nobody talks about generating money. Do not bury your talent — that is the message.”
Boluwatife Enome
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