*Why Indians corner Nigeria’s iron ore mining company *Vaswani brothers’ Premium Steel harpooning for steel complex *Federal Government keeps mum

Indications were rife recently that despite the recent historic resolution of Nigeria’s arbitration with the Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL), former concessionaire of Ajaokuta Steel Complex (ASCN), on August 1, 2016, at the London Court, respite may still not have come the way of Nigeria’s steel sector, which development had been stunted by over 40 years of failed attempts at transforming it from an iron ore producing nation to a steel manufacturing power.
This came as a Community Rights Activist, Barr. Natasha Hadiza Akpoti, has alleged that her efforts at linking the Federal Government back to the original builder of the ASCN, TyazhPromExport (TPE) of Russia, had been rebuffed by the Ministry of Solid Minerals, even as she has noted that the purported settlement of the arbitration, which gave the concession of the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) Itakpe, to the Indian firm, implies that the reversion of ASCN to Nigeria will not guarantee successful revitalisation of the comatose steel complex.
She disclosed that when she made contact with the Russian contractors, TPE, “They expressed deep sadness at the manner in which ASCN was handled. TPE said their heart was poured into the project.
That never, in all of their works across the world, not even in India, did they build a steel city as big as the Ajaokuta complex.
“That it was sad Nigeria did not heed their warnings about the international conspiracies and Nigeria turned her back on them instead of seeing the bright future they dreamt for us. That we, by our own hands, allowed our economy to be trampled amidst negative interests by other powerful countries. “That over the past years, they had tried reaching out to the Nigerian government to allow them come back and complete the project. Nigeria, did not respond positively.
“That they would want nothing more than to work to revive Ajaokuta and help Nigeria create jobs for its people and take itself out of poverty. Nigeria, they said must wake up from its slumber and be greater than ever before for itself and for Africa.”
Akpoti further alleged in an open letter to Nigerians on December 13, 2016, titled, ‘Corrupt Practices Surrounding Ajaokuta and Itakpe’ that the country had a good chance to reclaim both ASCN and NIOMCO, Itakpe, based on unequivocal evidence but that the activities of some highly placed Nigerians made it impossible.
But the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Mineral, Olayinka Oyebode, disclose that the Kogi-born half Ukraine and half Nigeria lawyer turned activist, has vested interest and most of the media reports on her allegations have not attempted to unravel what those interests are.
Meanwhile, according to a recent announcement by the Federal Government, all the disagreements with GSHL had been resolved, averting payment of $501 million penalty by giving up the most prized asset in steel making -the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Itakpe, to the Indian firm.
“Ajaokuta Steel Complex has now reverted to the Federal Government, effectively freeing the entity from all contractual encumbrances that had left it uncompleted and non-functional for decades, while GSHL retains NIOMCO,” the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals said in a recent statement in Abuja. We learnt that what the development implies is that GSHL will continue to tap iron ore from Itakpe and move it to Delta Steel which was in June 2015, taken over by Premium Steel, a company set up just months before the purchase of Delta Steel. Premium Steel is owned by a powerful Indian conglomerate headed by the Vaswani brothers (owners of the controversial Stallion group). Experts say Itakpe was set up as a captive mine to ASCN.
This was even as the original plan holds that iron ore would be moved from Itakpe to ASCN which would in turn distribute to other smaller rolling mills, Delta Steel inclusive. Akpoti fears that with GSHL as the owners of Itakpe, ASCN will become a sad history as there will be no ore to feed from.
“That means Kogi State will have no steel plant of its own ever again,” she said. But competent sources at the Ministry of Solid Minerals disclose that the Federal Government is disposed to giving ASCN to Premium Steel, which will handle the iron ore produced from Itakpe for GSHL. The source, which spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the thinking of government is that since Premium Steel will, by handling the iron ore from Itakpe and the Vaswanis, who own the company, are known to have the financial muscle to shell out the huge capital needed to revitalize the steel complex, it will be wise to hand over the moribund steel complex to them.
He, however, said that those not comfortable with the idea in the ministry, are worried that the implication of such an arrangement would mean giving ASCN through the back door to the controversial GSHL, owned by Mr. Primod Mittal, a kinsman of the Vaswanis.
One thing Premium Steel and GSHL have in common is that they had not had anything to do with steel before the two companies were formed and both have no affiliation with ArcelorMittal, which is the world’s renowned steel giant. ArcelorMittal is owned by Lakshmi Mittal an Indian and a cousin to Mr. Primod Mittal. Reputed to be the second largest endowed in steel resources, Nigeria, in the late 70s, ushered in some Russian technicians and engineers to design the Ajaokuta Steel Plant and prospect more for possible exploration of the country’s iron ore deposits.
The vote was found in the reputation of the Eastern European country as being very adept in building steel plants. By 1971, the Nigerian Steel Development Authority was established by Decree No.9 to bring to reality a steel plant and by 1979, during the administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, TPE, a Russian leading engineering company, commenced construction works on the Ajaokuta steel company.

The International Conspiracy
According to a retired civil servant from the Federal Ministry of Information, lot of people talk about the international conspiracies surrounding ASCN but very few know what they actually were or are. He disclosed that in 1992, when the project was near completion and while the Russians (TPE) called on the government to work on needed infrastructure, powerful countries, namely France, America, Germany, Britain etc, including organisations like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) started reaching out to the Nigerian government to terminate the project with the Russians.
The civil servant in the Accreditation and Monitoring Unit of Public Affairs Department of the Federal Ministry of Information, told us that precisely in 1991, he was opportune to have monitored two separate documentaries on Nigeria’s Steel Complex, Ajaokuta, Kogi State and the Aluminum Smelter Company, Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, respectively.
He said: “It was in the course of performing my monitoring duties that I got the first hint that the steel complex will never be able to produce flat iron sheets due to a defect in its installation capacity.
“I was agitated at the information and wanted to know why the steel plant, which was celebrated for its unique role in blazing the trail for heavy industrial development in Nigeria, had to start with such defect the French film producer simply said, ‘has to do with the steel technology the Russian contractors in-charge of the project have installed. I think that the Russian technology is a stale one.
“Another expert, an American working at the Aluminium Smelter Company Nigeria (ALSCON), said that what happened there after was that the original technology the Russians were bringing to Nigeria was sabotaged, and the current technology proposed for Nigeria Ajaokuta steel project was swapped on the high sea for an obsolete technology which is what has been installed at Ajaokuta. Your country will not be able to produce flat steel sheet and that isn’t good enough”, the retired civil servant said.
According to him, most government officials listened to and believed these stories and the negative solutions proffered without ever considering the true intentions of the so-called experts from these powerful foreign countries. But Russia, all through, stood its ground alone against France, America and co and kept on reminding Nigeria of the need to ignore the adverse opinions.
The Ohinoyi of Ebira land, HRM Ado Ibrahim, also disclosed that he witnessed, first-hand, a plot by the IMF during a conference in New York where a team of Nigerian officials and foreign agents connived to get ASCL completely dismantled and forgotten. To them, Nigeria did not need to have a steel plant. Nigeria could as well buy steel from them if needed for its development.
Nigeria’s government was too busy focusing on ushering in the Third Republic, June 12 saga and all. No attention was given to the Russians. TPE was no longer being paid. In 1994 TPE left Nigeria.

The Debt Buy Back
Nigeria’s contract with TPE was to construct ASCN for German Deutschmarks DM5billion and such that the Nigerian steel authority gave TPE promissory notes guaranteeing payment to the company. When the Nigerian government suspended payment and TPE left, TPE sold off these instruments to recover some of the debt owed to the company.

In October 1995, a series of secret debt buy-back transactions took place whereby the debt instruments were sold at inflated prices to Liberian companies purportedly owned by the Abachas – Parnar Shipping Corporation and Mecosta Securities. This involved the withdrawal in 1996 of $2.5 billion of public funds to settle debts owed Russia for the construction of the Ajaokuta steel plant, but which, in reality, had been discounted to only $500 million.

Obasanjo, in 1999, settled the debt through OMPADEC and in 2003, concessioned the plant to SOLGAS -an American company which had nothing to do with steel, but specialises in petroleum.
For a year and a half, SOLGAS’ zero progress raised questions as to their technical capacity to operate the ASCN. To this end, Nigeria terminated its contract with SOLGAS and Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL) became the second Concessionaire in 2004.
This concession, which saw the taking over of ASCN and Itakpe, has been described as one of the biggest scams against Nigeria in history. The plant was hugely undervalued for $300 million and GSHL was to pay nothing to the government but inject its funds to revive the plant with a number of conditions some of which were:
That the Federal Government should give GSHL two oil blocks.
That GSHL be allowed to be lifting crude oil from Nigeria.
That the Sapele Power Plant be given to GSHL to operate.
Concession of Delta and Warri Ports to GSHL to operate.
The supply of Natural Gas to GSHL at ‘competitive and reasonable tariff’.
GSHL came up with this condition after it failed to sign a Gas Supply Agreement with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company. GSHL offered to pay N5.00 per cubic meter of Gas as against the market price of N30.00). It also inserted in its conditions that “Gas price should be kept reasonable and consistent”.
After all these conditions, ASCN still deteriorated as its equipment were moved to Delta Steel (which GSHL took over in 2005) while some to other private Indian-owned steel factories in Nigeria in the name of ‘borrowing’.
The Federal Government, under President Umaru Yar’Adua, realised the huge mistake Nigeria once again made and terminated the contract.
A Senator Ahmed Lawan-led ad hoc Committee, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Mohammed Musa Sada also revealed that the Federal Government, under President Olusegun Obasanjo, single handedly sold ASCN to GSHL and the Indian firm consequently finally ruined the Ajaokuta complex by stripping it of all valuable equipment and machinery.

Make I book space first

If we cannot manage this ajaokuta steel, let's sell it off.

Abeg blame all our stupid governments since the 70's for this _fuck up! Why start blaming Indians, Russians, vaswaanis, Americans and even batman? How will others stop you from developing your own property? In your own backyard?

Nonsense!

Thanks to dis courageous lady. Only sad dat d sleeping president won't do anytin meaningful abt dis.

I won't say am disappointed with d minister after his conduct during d ministetial screening but I will thank God dat he is exposing his incompetence.

D vice president shud do sumtin abt dis because I can recall he sign d papers(without knowledge of d issues abound) transferring ownership to d indians.

Once again tnx to dis lady activist