Kayode Fayemi, minister of mines
and steel development, says his ministry is yet to hire anyone over for the
concession of Ajaokuta Steel Plant.
On Thursday, the lower
legislative chamber asked President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the concession of
the plant.
The house also moved to amend the
privatisation act by removing the steel plant from the list of public assets
which the federal government has powers to privatise.
The lawmakers alleged that the
ministry had already contracted PricewaterhouseCoopers.
But in a statement, Olayinka
Oyebode, media aide to the minister, quoted Fayemi as saying the process for
the appointment of a transaction adviser is on but would not be completed until
it gets the approval of the federal executive council (FEC).
The minister said it is worrisome
that the house could devote an entire day to an issue that “has not even
arisen”.
“The ministry of mines and steel
development has not contracted any transaction adviser for the concession of
Ajaokuta steel company, as wrongly asserted by the house,” the statement read.
“The process for the appointment
of a transaction adviser is on, but cannot be completed until it gets the
approval of the federal executive council (FEC).
“The ministry has not spent a
dime from the N2,096,500.00 appropriated by the house for the concession of
Ajaokuta steel company (in the 2017 appropriation law). The mediation process
that led to the amicable settlement of the legal encumbrances on Ajaokuta Steel
Complex has not ended.
“There are still a few more steps
to be taken as outlined in the terms of (out of court) settlement. And the
ministry is following up on this. It is also important to state that no one has
been hired. The ministry remains committed to making Ajaokuta steel plant
function effectively, convinced that steel remains the most important
engineering material and backbone of industrialisation in any economy.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com