The renewed bidding process by NCC follows accusations that BPE had not been transparent in selecting a capable company to buy Nitel. This was after the organization was accused of favoring Globacom, the country's second national carrier.

A new interim board of directors that will oversee the selling of the company has since been set up, signaling that the Nigerian government is serious about selling the financially beleaguered company.

Yar'Aradua has also directed the new board of directors not to embark on any new projects until the company is handled over to new owners.

The problems surrounding the sale of Nitel underlines the difficulties African governments are facing in privatizing incumbent telecom companies.

Generally, corruption and lack of transparent by senior government officials and regulators has been the root cause of the problems surrounding the privatization process of African telecom companies.