NIGERIAS privatisation agency has extended the deadline by a week for foreign telecoms companies to express interest in buying state telecom company Nitel, the government said on Tuesday. Prospective investors have until 5:00 p.m. on June 18 to submit their applications to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the office of President Olusegun Obasanjo said in a statement. The statement said some companies had complained of logistical problems, and could not meet the original deadline. The privatisation of inefficient state enterprises is the central plank of Obasanjo’s policies aimed at ending economic stagnation of the oil-producing nation caused by 15 years of military rule, which ended in 1999. BPE director general Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai said his worst nightmare was that no one would bid for the heavily indebted company, which he estimates is worth $2-billion. Nitel has a potential subscriber base of more than 10 million in a population of over 110 million and valuable assets in the form of rights of way and transmission facilities. – AFP