The Senate on Tuesday raised concerns about the N4.2 billion allocated in the 2024 budget as personnel costs for an unverifiable number of workers at the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited.
These concerns emerged during an investigative hearing conducted by an ad hoc committee of the Senate on alleged corruption and inefficiency in Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and the National Iron Ore Mining Company from 2002 to date.
Deputy Chairman of the committee, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central), questioned the sole administrator of the company, Summaila Abdul Akaba, about the number of workers receiving salaries from the appropriated N4.2 billion for personnel costs in 2024.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan stated, “As the sole administrator of Ajaokuta Steel Company, I have a pressing question for you. Being an indigene from the area, I am deeply concerned about the state of the company and passionate about its revival.
The sum of N4.2 billion was appropriated for personnel costs in 2024, but from several visits to the complex, I hardly saw 10 people around or doing anything. So, who are the workers collecting monthly salaries from the appropriated N4.2 billion?
“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 that the appropriated N4.2 billion is being spent on?”
In an attempt to avoid embarrassment, Minority Whip of the Senate, Senator Osita Ngwu (PDP, Enugu West), who is also a member of the committee, prevented the sole administrator from responding to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s question.
Senator Ngwu interjected, “Please don’t let us indict ourselves because the said appropriation was approved by the National Assembly.”
In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire (APC, Ondo Central), assured that the committee would thoroughly review the presentations and submissions made by various stakeholders to provide a solution report on Ajaokuta Steel Company to the Senate.
Key stakeholders at the investigative hearing included the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, a director from the Central Bank of Nigeria, a director from the Bureau of Public Enterprises, the Nigerian Society of Engineers, and the Steel and Engineering Workers Union of Nigeria, among others.
