Fayemi seeks middle ground with Reps over Ajaokuta steel

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Thursday said the Federal Government was not going to spend a dime again on the Ajaokuta Steel Complex in Kogi State.

The minister was apparently responding to the action of the House of Representatives members, who had last week passed a vote of no confidence on him and the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Alhaji Abubakar Bwari.

The House took the action after both ministers failed to appear before it for sectoral debate on the steel plant.

The Reps members had also called on the ministers to shelve every step in respect to the plans to concession the plant and said that they would want the Federal Government to invest and complete the project.

But at a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, Fayemi said that the Federal Government had already resolved that it was not going to spend any money on Ajaokuta again.

Fayemi stated that the executive is ready to work with the legislature to ensure the success of Ajaokuta so that it can create jobs and wealth.

According to him, the current administration would not want to make the same mistake former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other administrations made in investing money that amounted to nothing on the Ajaokuta Steel Complex.

He further explained that after past governments had sunk over $8 billion into the project since 1979 without any result, that the Buhari government would not spend any money to complete the steel plant.

This was even as he said that no fewer than 14 organisations from different countries had since 2016 showed interest in the Ajaokuta Steel Complex.

“We have also said to them that we are not going to repeat the mistake of the Obasanjo administration. We will not undertake the re-concession without one, a technical audit; two, a transaction advisory service that will look into all these and advise us accordingly as to who really has the technical capacity, the financial wherewithal and the track record to really bring Ajaokuta back to life.

“However, the government took a principled position on one thing: that Nigeria will not spend one dollar on the so-called completion of the Ajaokuta steel plant. The reason for that is very simple; today from our record, we have spent close to $8bn since 1979 when this process started and we have not seen the result,” Fayemi said.

Speaking on plans to concession of the plant, the minister said that the House of Representatives have agreed on the matter and had in 2017 Appropriation Act approved the sum of N2 billion for the purpose.

“We are just implementing what was passed by the National Assembly. That is why we are surprised that we have been subjected to an unwarranted attack over the matter in the last one week.

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“Ajaokuta is an inherited challenge. The Chief Olusegun Obasanjo administration gave it out on concession; the President Umaru Yar’Adua government revoked it. And the case went to the London Court of Arbitration. Its resolution in 2016 led to the signing of the Modified NIOMCO Agreement, which ceded the complex back to the Federal Government and NIOMCO to Global Steel.

“No fewer than 14 parties have shown interest in running the complex, but government’s position is that we would not do any concession without a technical audit.

“PricewaterhouseCoopers was engaged to do a review of the company’s indebtedness and statutory liabilities as part of the settlement agreement.

“The National Assembly appropriated N2,096,500,000 for Ajaokuta concession in the 2017 Appropriation Act duly passed into law. We are just commencing what was passed into law by the National Assembly.

“This is why I am surprised at how we have been subjected to vitriolic attacks in the last one week. The March 1 sectoral debate, which we could not attend, was the first and only one I and the Minister of State were unable to attend and we duly communicated this to the leadership of the House.

“We take exception to allegations that are not backed up by evidences. Allegations that officials of the ministry have had their hands tied by the concessionaire are quite unfounded.

“The Russian government has not indicated interest in Ajaokuta. Yes, we have had offers from companies from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and even Nigeria.

“Yes, I have met with the Russian Ambassador the same way I have met with the Ukrainian Ambassador and many other ambassadors. The Russian Ambassador told me they can offer technical, management and audit support, but not as a country bringing in money to take over the complex.

“Many are saying Ajaokuta is 98 per cent completed. The ministry believes that can only be determined by the outcome of the technical audit, which should be ready in about six weeks.”

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He insisted that the President Muhammadu Buhari government was being meticulous with the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, given the fact that it had been a victim of bad planning and poor execution by past administrations.

He added, “Our interest is to make it work so that it can create jobs and wealth, and we are ready to work with the National Assembly and other stakeholders to ensure its success.”

On the position of the Reps which he condemned and described as unwarranted attacks, he said, “The House of Representatives has every right to seek for an explanation on any matter relating to what they have appropriated as one responsible for appropriation, and on any matter of public interest. There is nothing fundamentally wrong in the House and its leadership requesting our presence at the sectoral debate that was called last week.”

 

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