Ajaokuta, Itakpe new deal done without business plan – Lawyer
The recent agreement the Federal Government entered to reclaim Ajaokuta Steel Industry and hand over Nigeria Iron Ore Mining Company, NIOMCO to Global Steel Holding Limited, GSHL is said to be without any business plan.
Human Right Activist, a Lawyer and a Social Enterprenuer Natasha Akpoti in this interview revealed why GSHL is unworthy of the new deal and why the original builders of plant should called back. OPEOLUWANI AKINTAYO reports
The new agreement between Federal Government and Global Steel Holdings Limited was meant to put the steel industry back on track, wasn’t it?
The agreement in view and the view of most Nigerians is like taking one step forward and two steps backward. So in way it is a retrogressive agreement but the bright side is that we could say for once in eight years, Ajaokuta is free. That means it is off the hostage of the agreement that it has been entrap in the past eight years by the Indians and it now belongs to the Federal Government and the government can invest or seek investors to invest in Ajaokuta.
But on the retrogressive part, I think it is quite disdainful that it is the same company that late President Yar’Adua terminated their concession. So I wonder why Nigeria would actually reengaged the Indians on the same grounds whereby we have clear proof that there was fraud and mismanagement of resources. So are we expecting something different? And we know that a leopard rarely changes its spot. I am quite hopeful and prayerful that somehow the Minister will be able to convince us that he has been able to negotiate a better package for Nigerian.
Before re-negotiating, was there any clear business plan?
One would have expected that a government that preaches transparency, due diligence and accountability, to do things the right way but here we have Nigeria signing on with Global Infrastructure Steel Limited, GISL Itakpe without a business plan. They are about just now to start drafting a business plan for the iron ore company.
What if the business plan they are going draft in 105 days does not fall in line with our need for diversification? We have to save Ajaokuta. Let us not forget that Ajaokuta is nothing without Itakpe and Itakpe is actually where the iron ore is. Ajaokuta was actually created because of Itakpe.
So if Nigerians is going to give the most important part which is the battery life of Nigeria’s iron and steel industry to people who are known worldwide for fraud, what do we expect from them?
One of the ways we could avert them holding us to ransom is to ask and demand for transparency over the terms and condition which was entered into because right now nobody has seen the agreement. The minister does not even have a one-year plan for Itakpe. This means Itakpe was given back to the Indians without a business plan.
But the Vice president, Minister and the Ministry of Justice were present; could they not have cut a better deal for the country?
I cannot say whether that is the best case but what I do know on the face is that it was clearly a weak negotiation. Nigeria should not have succumbed to that because at the end of the day what was the essence of wasting eight years if we know that we were going back to the same people? When you asked whether or not the terms were negotiated in favour of Nigerians, I will like to say that the Indians are to be held responsible for the economic loss of the eight years that was wasted producing nothing.
Let me explain this. Ajaokuta and Itakpe were held down for eight years and we are giving them back on the same terms. Who is going to pay for the years it deteriorated? I have seen the terms and the only difference is the concessionary fee that they are going to pay Nigeria which was increase from three percent to four percent. This is after giving them the whole resources, and after the second year of operation that is when they will begin to pay Nigeria four percent after royalty and taxes. That’s it! So it is practically the same. Like I said it will be interesting for the minister to speak up, let everybody know what they are tied to. It is our common resource; such agreement should not be held to the detriment of Nigerians in darkness.
Talking about what I will like to see in the agreement is that the Indians or somebody should be held accountable for dragging Nigeria into this mess in the first place. There is no accountability, people are silent on that and there is somebody that should be held accountable and he is not just a ghost. Secondly, I will like to see who is going to be held accountable for the deteriorated state because Ajaokuta and Itakpe was shut down and we all know that technology deteriorate with age. Who is going to pay for the economic lose? If Ajaokuta and Itakpe was producing for the eight years that it was tied down, that means Nigerian lost billions of naira for eight years
Does the current agreement not take care of it?
No! I saw the previous one which was supposed to been sign in 2004 and it wasn’t and I tell you it is not much difference. Nobody is been held accountable for the economic lose and the deterioration of assets.
But it was in arbitration, wasn’t it?
Even if it was in arbitration, I expected Nigerian lawyers, our SAN to have stood up and ask. I am a lawyer and I take part of the blame. Why didn’t we the so called human right activist put counter claims against the Indians? It is wrong for Nigerians to sit back and watch a foreign company hold our natural resource hostage for eight years. No country would have allowed this.
What would have happened in arbitration?
If I had taken it up myself, what I would have done was to counter sue on behalf of Nigerians, on behalf of the host communities. That would have been a case of economic crime, suing the Indians for economic crimes, asset stripping. That is one thing that would have happened.
Many Nigerians do not know that there is a particular right that they have over their national assets which supersede every international agreement. There is a United Nation declaration which vest on the indigenous people of Nigeria the right to enjoy their natural resource and no international law or whatsoever can deprive Nigeria from that and Nigerians have been deprive for eight years.
But people do not read broadly to understand their right and they forget that the freedom we all seek is written in books. I just discovered this three months ago that there was actually such a privilege. I was with a certain professor who heads the United Nations Committee on International Business Law. He said: “Why are Nigerians quiet over this? How could you seat down? Do you have lawyers that actually folded their arms to watch Nigeria assets being held hostage by arbitration? No country would have done that and not even a prominent Indian company!
But arbitration is give-and-take?
Laws are manmade and are not final and I most state this clearly that most of the laws that governor international transaction were not done in favour of the black race, it is true, it is a fact. We forget the fact that laws are dynamic, humans can change law that is why you see every now and then there are amendments. I thought that this would have been ‘Local Classical’ if Nigerians had pushed on and approached the international court of arbitration that tell them that our people are suffering, and these assets are vital and more over we have clear proof that this company has engaged in fraudulent malpractice not only in Nigeria but in other countries like Bulgaria, Libya even in Indian, this company has been banned from operating so why are we opening ourselves to them.
If we put our case forward, I believe the International Court of Arbitration will sit back and revaluate it and this would have been an opportunity for Nigeria to set precedent for every other country who have had it asset manipulated and trampled upon by powerful countries.
The Minister said there is going to be an open bid for Ajaokuta, what is your take?
Nigeria is a country of high political grounds because today something is said and tomorrow someone counters it. To the very best of my knowledge which the Minister is aware of; on the 8th of July, the Minister’s office receives a memo from the President approving (a) That he should conclude the arbitration with Global Infrastructure and (b) He should engaged the Russians and finalise negotiation to reactivate Ajaokuta. It was specific.
A few weeks later, we heard that there is actually going to be a bidding process so that they could fulfil all righteousness. It is a normal procedure when you are starting a project. Let’s not forget that Ajaokuta was completed 98 percent by the Russian before they left. So why do you want to bring a new technology, a new brain to something that has gone that far? We have tried two concessions and have failed. The Russians left 22 years ago, shouldn’t we know what is right to be done?
Remember, every still plant TechnoPromExport, TPE of Russia has built, they have a long term service and expansion relationship with the company.
Why are you pushing for the Russian?
People say that I’m Russian but that it’s not true. I am actually Ukrainian because my mother is from Ukrian so if I am speaking, I should be speaking for Ukraine and not Russia because both countries are presently in disagreement.
Ajaokuta was already 98 percent completed by the Russians. They have already finished it. Infact 40 out of the 42 units was completed and there is this blast furnace which is the engine room of Ajaokuta steel plant. That was what the Russians refused to start because when you ignite the blast furnace it is meant to run non-stop for 15-20 years until only shut down for service. Shutting the blast furnace for maintenance and starting it again cost lots of money and all the raw materials needed for the service must be made available.
The Russians left because of lack of funding from the Federal Government and infrastructure connecting the rail track from Ajaokuta to Onne Port which was the deep sea port as at the time. The Russians needed all of these in place to support the function of Ajaokuta. Since these infrastructures were not available, it was needless for the Russian to start the blast furnace. If you take a look at Ajaokuta, it has two power plants. This means that Ajaokuta was built in such a way that it will lack nothing to operate effectively.
The Russians are the original builders of the plant and they do clean businesses. So why bring in another technology to something that is 98 percent completed? Why are we running away from the Russians? Our founding fathers brought the Russians to develop the country. Are we wiser than our founding fathers? Russia came to Nigeria because countries like England, US, Japan, Canada refused to help develop our steel industry and steel is very crucial in international politics. Any country that gets its steel industry right, becomes almost power in the world and talking about Africa, Nigeria is the most populous and talented black race. So it was more of a threat to the Western world for Nigeria to get its steel industry right. China can set up a steel plant, they can do other things but why do we have to bring in a different party with a different technology into a place that is already 98 percent completed? Engineers will understand these things better. It is like an iphone and a Blackberry, the two devices are fine but you cannot build an iphone to 98 percent and get Blackberry to complete it. It will not fit
