Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd. (NITEL) and its mobile arm, Mobile Telecommunications Ltd. (MTEL), have received about 61 billion naira (about US$516 million) of the 150 billion allocated so far to privatization efforts, according to the BPE, the federal government agency in charge of privatization.

In a recent report tied to Independence Day last week, BPE Director General Irene Chigbue said that the payments were made to facilitate the settlement of labor-related expenses including salary arrears, termination benefits and pensions.

Chigbue said that since BPE took office in 2005, more than 100 enterprises have been privatized. The BPE's duties include approving companies for privatization and overseeing financial practices among commercialized enterprises.