Luke Okoro
15 May 2005
Lagos — President of BFI Group (BFIG), Nigerian born American, Dr. Reuben Jaja has accused the Bureau of Public-Enterprises (BPE) of undermining the privatisation process by fraudulently acceding to the take-over of the Aluminium Smelter Company (ALSCON) by Rusal of Russia, which came second in the exercise.
Livid with anger and frustration, Dr. Jaja, who x-rayed how the BFIG would use the ALSCON project to turn around the situation of his Niger Delta people and the nation, stated that Nigeria would only become a serious player in world economy if it got the privatisation exercise right.
He, however, expressed dismay that the handling of the ALSCON exercise has cast doubts about the transparency and integrity of the programme.
According to him, the international community is watching the country to see how she would resolve the crisis rocking the ALSCON exercise.
It would be recalled that the bid for the core investor for ALSCON was won by the BFIG, but was later allegedly up-turned in favour of Rusal of Russia by the BPE.
At present, the matter has gone to court with the BFIG praying it to revalidate its earlier choice as the preferred bidder for the ALSCON.
Although the BPE had claimed that the bid was cancelled because of its inability to pay the required 10 per cent acceptance fee, within 15 days, Dr. Jaja contested the claim, noting that the payment was to be paid after the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) had been signed.
He insisted that the SPA had not been signed at the time the bid was cancelled by the BPE and wondered whether the agreement was not to be followed (See full interview on pages 35 & 36)
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