THE Nigerian government privatisation agency on Wednesday confirmed reports it had found a 42,5-billion naira ($370-million) hole in the pension funds of the state-run telecoms firm Nitel. “Nitel pension (fund) is … presently underfunded thus leaving 2,5-billion naira instead of 45-billion naira,” the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said in a statement. However the reason for the situation was not yet clear, it said, following reports in the Nigerian press that fraud was involved. – AFP
Wednesday June 13, 2001