Senate questions N4.2b personnel cost for unverifiable workers at Ajaokuta Steel

The Senate has raised issues over N4.2b appropriated in the 2024 budget as personnel cost for unverifiable workers at Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited.

The issue about workers that cannot be verified at the moribund steel company came to the fore during an investigative hearing on alleged incidents of corruption and inefficiency in Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and National Iron Ore Mining Company from 2002 to date, by an Ad-hoc committee of the Senate.

The Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP Kogi Central), took on the sole administrator of the steel firm, Summaila Abdul Akaba, on the number of workers collecting salaries from the N4.2b appropriated for personnel cost in the 2024 budget.

She said being an indigene of the area desirous to get the steel company revamped and working prompts her to make unscheduled visits to it and hardly find 10 people.

She lamented further that despite such a humongous amount of money being spent as personnel cost by the steel company on a yearly basis, no steel has been manufactured and no mill rolled out.

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“The Sole Administrator of Ajaokuta Steel Company, I have a good question for you being an indigene from the area, very worried about the state of the company and passionate for its revival.

“The Sum of N4.2b was appropriated for personnel cost in 2024 but from several visitations I’ve made to the complex, hardly were 10 people sighted to be around or doing anything.

“So, who are the workers collecting monthly salaries from the appropriated N4.2b?

“Statistically, if N300,000 is paid monthly to 14,000 people per month for a year, you get N4.2 billion or N500,000 to 8,400 workers per month in a year.

“Where are the 14,000 or 8,400 workers in Ajaokuta, the appropriated N4.2 billion is being spent on who?” she asked.

But in an embarrassment-saving move, the minority whip of the Senate, who is also a member of the committee, Senator Osita Ngwu (PDP Enugu West), prevented the sole administrator from responding to Natasha’s poser.

Senator Ngwu, in his interjection, said: “Please let’s not indict ourselves because the said appropriation was approved by the National Assembly.”

In his closing remarks at the investigative hearing, the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire (APC Ondo Central), said presentations and submissions made by the various stakeholders would be thoroughly looked into by the Committee for a proper report on Ajaokuta Steel Company to the Senate.

Key stakeholders at the investigative hearing were the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, a Director from the Central Bank of Nigeria, a Director from Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Nigerian Society of Engineers, Steel and Engineering Union Workers of Nigeria, etc.