IBADAN, Nigeria -(Dow Jones)- Nigeria's National Council on Privatization said Friday it has set up a seven-member committee to undertake "further due diligence" on prospective investors that submitted bids for the privatization of Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd, or Nitel, and its mobile arm M-TEL.

Chigbo Anichebe, head of public communications at the Bureau of Public Enterprises, or BPE, said in a statement that the decision to form the panel was made during a meeting Friday of the NCP, chaired by Acting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

The BPE announced on Feb. 16 that the New Generations Telecommunications Consortium had offered a $2.5 billion bid for Nitel, the highest bid submitted by the five companies that participated in the bidding for 75% of Nitel and its M-TEL unit, Anichebe said. The New Generations consortium includes GiCell Wireless Limited, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and Minerva Group, he said.

Anichebe said Nigerian Attorney General Adetokunbo Kayode will chair the committee. Its other members are Minister of Finance Mansur Muktar, Secretary to the Nigerian government Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Humphrey Abah, acting BPE Director General Bolanle Onagoruwa, NCP's technical committee chairman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, and Mike Oghiadombe, principal secretary to Nigeria's acting president.

According to the statement, the committee has seven days to submit its report to the privatization council.

The bidding caused controversy after Sophia Tso, spokeswoman of Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., said the company wasn't bidding for a stake in Nitel and wasn't part of the consortium bidding for the company.

Following her statement, BPE released a letter showing that it was China Unicom (Europe) that was interested in the privatization. The letter from William So, president of London-based China Unicom (Europe), said "we are pleased to inform you that we are willing to be a technical partner to support New Generation Telecommunications Limited Consortium to bid for Nitel and to provide technical and managerial support on terms to be agreed, when the bid is finally won."

The letter added, "We will also consider equity participation of not less than 20%, subject to final agreement with the consortium."

Anichebe said the other four companies that joined the bidding were: Brymedia Consortium, which offered $551 million for Nitel as a whole; MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd., which offered $25 million for SAT-3; AFZI/Spectrum Consortium, which bid $375.5 million for Nitel as a whole; and Omen International, which offered $956 million for Nitel.

The companies were invited to bid for at least a 75% equity in the entire Nitel conglomerate, or a stake in one or several of its units: M-TEL, the CDMA network, SAT-3 cable and the analog mobile subsidiary, domestic fixed-line telephony and the national fiber optic transmission.

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