Tony Elumelu Tells How To Make State-Owned Assets Profitable

The Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Tony Elumelu has identified steps that will unlock the value of state-owned assets.

Elumelu made the disclosures as the guest speaker at the Public Wealth Management Conference organized by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI).

The conference with the theme “Championing Nigeria’s Economic Prosperity”  is part of MOFI’s attempt to bring a private sector mindset to the stewardship of public assets.

Referencing Africapitalism,  the guiding philosophy of his famous turnaround successes with Transcorp Group (Transnational Corporation Plc) and UBA – which encompasses investing for the long-term, not the short-term, in strategic sectors of the economy that not only create profit but also create social wealth for the communities the businesses operate -, Elumelu identified success factors that should be embraced.

The Chairman of Transcorp whose subsidiaries include leading electricity producers Transcorp Power and towering-above-others hospitality brand, Transcorp Hotels Plc advocated for the assemblage of the best in the industry who possess a turnaround mindset to transform the state assets by setting performance targets for them.

“Create a high-performance environment and culture of excellence, You have to have an improvement mindset, a hunger for operational excellence” he added in his speech delivered at the event declared open by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The captain of industry under whose behind-the-scenes deft touches UBA joined the community of companies with a market capitalization of over N1 trillion and Transcorp reported an arresting revenue of N128 billion in Q3 2023, compared to N96.2 billion in Q3 2022 – the last released financial results -, also advocated for the building of a “strong governance structure including a strong board with seasoned private sector professionals and an empowered executive management team” as well as the balancing of the team with “non-executives, who bring objectivity and experience.”

The Founder of the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, catalysing economic growth, driving poverty eradication and driving job creation across all 54 African countries, The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), added that “continuous review of the operating environment to identify and mitigate emerging portfolio risks” and “Non-interference in management” are also vital.

Stressing the need for action, Elumelu who appreciated MOFI for the initiative that was held at the Congress Hall of Transcopr Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, emphasized that “times are hard for Nigerians everywhere and we must come together and act in unison to catalyse significant socio-economic development for Nigeria and all our people.”