Abuja — Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Dr Christopher Anyanwu, yesterday appealed to the nation's economists to suggest practical ways to re-model the country's privatisation programme to suit its environment.

The current reform and privatisation programme, he claimed, was designed and tailored towards the capitalist economy which may not suit the Nigerian environment.

Anyanwu, who made the appeal yesterday in Abuja, when members of the Nigerian Economics Students Association (NESA) from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, paid him a courtesy visit, adding that the immediate challenge and preoccupation was to re-model the exercise, with a view to making it more effective, efficient and acceptable to the generality of Nigerians.

According to him, if the country must advance, privatisation must be taken seriously, because an economy driven by private hands is better managed, citing other developed economies of the world that have embraced the exercise to buttress his point.

He said if eventually re-modeled, the inherent lapses in the exercise would be eradicated, adding however, that the task at hand was daunting, especially with the perception by many Nigerians that BPE is out to sell the "family silver ware."

Anyanwu urged the students to avail themselves with hand books on privatisation, to educate other Nigerians on the gains of privatisation.

Earlier, President of NESA, Mr Chiemezie Ofodun, said the visit was to acquaint themselves with operations of the Bureau and also have practical experience, other than theory.