EMPLOYEES of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, (ASCL) and National Iron Ore Mining Company, (NIOMCO) have called for the utilisation of the units of the steel plant which have recently been completed in order to save it from rotting.
They have therefore urged the government to order their immediate use as that could generate the much needed revenue for government.
According to the workers who spoke under the aegis of Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ISSSAN) and Steel and Engineering Workers Union (SEWUN), the delay in commissioning and putting the completed units of the plants into operation was wasteful and worrisome.
National President of ISSAN, Comrade Titus Orimijupa, who spoke on behalf of the workers called on the supervising Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to take immediate action to save the plants from further decay.
While listing the units in question to include Light Section Mill, Wire Rod Mill, Engineering Workshops, Lime Plant, etc, he stated that "these plants will continue to decay and deteriorate if not put into operation."
According to him, "it is pertinent to state that the revenue that can be generated from these plants is enough to pay the salaries of staff in these companies and the balance can even be ploughed back into the completion of the plants."
He rejected reports which suggested that the plants were completely grounded, indicating that they were about 90% completed and ready for production.
According to the workers, work has been unable to start because of the unavailability of raw materials, mainly billets and iron ingots, the non- completion of vital supporting infrastructure including the Ajaokuta-Warri rail line which still has about 25 kilometres left to be executed and the dredging of Rivers Niger and Escravos.
Mr. Orimijupa on the heels of the supervising minister, Mr. Demola Seriki's visit to the company, remarked that the most important component of the plant, which is the blast furnace, was, however, 100 per cent complete and could be commissioned in three months once the logistics were in place and the requisite raw materials were available on a consistent basis.
While calling for a halt to the purportedly planned staff reduction, he requested government to pay the three months' backlog of salaries owed them as well as the inclusion of their personnel and overhead costs in the 2009 federal budget.
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Can anyone remember how long it took for Ajaokuta Steel plant to take off, if it has taken off at all? Probably about 3 decades of wasted resources and decades of low rate of development because each successive military juntas including the visionless civilian administration of Shagari, preferred to cancel their predecessors contract so the new administration can re-issue a brand new one so the new "Rulers" can collect their own 10% bribe on top of the penalties for cancelling a bi-lateral agreement also known as Liquidated Damages clause embedded in each contract. We have entered the same "cancel and reissue so I can chop my own 10%" mode with this current administration on the Railway, Power and all other sundry list of "probe and cancel". By the time we get a functioning railway system and uninterrupted power supply, the current generation would've died off and the new generation would never know that prior to 1980, we had a functioning railway system and more than 90% of daily power supply. I remember the justification OBJ gave for the 3rd Term Agenda we begged him to consider when he visited NY at that time was that he wouldn't want his reform policies to become "abandoned projects". To safe-guard against this abandoned projects syndrome that Nigerian govts are famous for, that is why he supported YarAdua plus being the only northerner that is not on Ribadu's List of Corrupt Governors, (along with Duke in the Cross Rivers, OBJs favorite but for the north's clamor for power back). Well, who would've thought (thunk it, chuckles) that Umorus health was this horrible and debilitating - what a disappointment and Nigerians are the losers as a result of this misplaced trust. If this is the best the North has to offer, then I weep for Naija.