BFIG, BPE Bicker Over ALSCON
The handover of the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, to the preferred bidder, BFIG Group by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) is still not in sight as the battle by the duo for the soul of the company still rages almost two decades after BFIG Group won the bid.
President of the BFIG President, Mr Reuben Jaja, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja said among other allegations that the apex privatization agency tampered with the original Share Purchase agreement(SPA) by reducing the 58-page document to 16, and by so doing erased very important information that would have made the takeover of the firm much easier, adding that the same document also addressed the issue of gas purchase agreement.
According to Mr Jaja, the act by the BPE was a contravention of the Supreme Court judgement on the case. He further alleged that some top government officials offered him a $35 million bribe to forget about ALSCON.
But the Director-General of BPE, Mr Alex Okoh, in reaction to the allegations by Mr Jaja revealed that he (Jaja) had already signed the agreement as ordered by the Supreme Court.
“Why did he sign it if it was the wrong one? He signed in December last year. We have a copy of the agreement and we can show it to the press if he wants. The agreement he signed stipulates that he makes payment within 15 days. He has not made any payment. It is very unfortunate that we can allow this kind of irresponsibility from a Nigerian who has done everything to castrate such a vital national asset with no intention to change his behavior. It is very unfortunate. I will not condone it.
“By the way, why would I offer him money. It is ludicrous. I am the seller of the asset not a buyer. Why would I offer him money. For what? Where do I get the money to offer him and for what purpose? This fellow is desperately trying to muddle up the truth. If he has money to pay in line with the Supreme Court judgement, let him just bring the money. Period! To try and use cheap blackmail to acquire such a strategic national asset for free or through the back door is disingenuous to be frank. It’s not going to happen. No amount of cheap blackmail will make that happen”, Okoh said.
The Supreme Court in its judgement of July 6, 2012, ruled that the Bureau of Public Enterprises return ALSCON to BFIG Group.
A Russian company, RUSAL had earlier been disqualified by BPE from the financial bid process after it submitted a conditional bid in breach of the bidding guidelines.
In the face of the disqualification of the Russian firm, the Federal Government under former President Olusegun Obasanjo opted to give ALSCON to RUSAL, a development that has led the preferred bidder, BFIG, to drag the apex privatization agency to court.
Jaja again condemned BPE’s claim that BFIG was presented with SPA on more than one occasion, but failed to make payment.
Jaja said, “In 2012, after more than four months of the Supreme Court’s judgment, the BPE boss at the time agreed to give BFIG the same 58-page SPA given to UC RUSAL in 2006 to sign.
“The document contained almost all what BFIG agreed to as bidders at a special technical conference of all parties to the bid in 2004, including BPE and all other bidders.”
