Members of the Senate Committee on Power and Steel Development yesterday directed the Minister of Mines and Steel, Musa Sada, to disband the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Ajaokuta Steel Company over their alleged involvement in the canibalisation and sale of the Company's equipment.
Chairman of the committee Senator Philip Aduda (PDP, FCT), gave the order, insisting that a substantive management team should be constituted as a way forward for the ailing Steel Company.
"We are mandating you to report to the Federal Executive Council that the IMC should be disengaged and let a more realistic management team be set up for the running of the place. We don't understand how management team set up to run for six months has been there for four years, that is not acceptable," Aduda said.
"The management team should be sacked; they should be investigated for their involvement in asset stripping. We want you to revert to the Federal Executive Council and inform it that we have directed that the IMC should be sacked," added.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Musa Sada told the Senators that when assumed office in May 2010 he stopped the sale and ordered a technical audit of the company.
He said it was difficult to determine how the Management Committee arrived at the judgement that the equipments they sold were obsolete when a scientific check was not conducted and in fact, some of the equipments sold were taken from the stores of the company.
He said the Management Committee had sold N58 million worth of equipments before they were stopped but despite that the company was in bad shape and threatened by over grown weeds that was dangerous especially as the dry season approach.
The company was constructed between 1979 and 1982 by the Federal Government at the cost of about $5 million and was over 80 percent completed at the time and was partially operational while the present Interim Management Committee came on board in 2008 after the federal government concession agreement was terminated and the 16 member Committee was put in place to oversee the company for six months but have remained there for fours now.
DailyTrust