Nigerians would be relieved following the report that the $5.258 billion claim by Global Steel Holdings Ltd against Nigeria for the unlawful termination of the contract to upgrade Ajaokuta Steel Plant has been settled at $496 million. Global Steel had during the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo, through five major concessions and share purchase agreements, acquired rights over Nigeria’s entire steel industry. Against legal advice from the Federal Ministry of Justice, the government of President Umaru Yar’Adua, in 2008, terminated the contract, upon which the company took Nigeria to the International Chamber of Commerce, Court of Arbitration in Paris.
According to the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, Nigeria secured 91 percent hair cut on the original claim, which is commendable. He paid tribute to the President and we agree with him, for bringing the matter to an end during his tenure. In his words: “I pay tribute to President Muhammadu Buhari for his dedication to resolving this problem and wrestling back a crown jewel of our national industrialisation plans rather than leaving the endeavour to the future administration to deal with.”
While we join in celebrating the settlement of the dispute, we urge that a thorough forensic legal audit be conducted so that the nation is not exposed to similar legal quandary in future. It is important to know what made the government of President Obasanjo to enter into the five major concessions and share purchase agreement signed by that regime. Conversely, it is also necessary to find out why the regime of President Yar’Adua decided to terminate the contracts, despite the reported advice from the ministry of justice.
If the original contracts were skewed against Nigeria, who was responsible for that? Again, it is important to examine the report that if Nigeria had waited for 55 days, the company was set to default in the agreement, yet, despite the advice from the ministry of justice, the contract was unlawfully terminated. What led to such ill-conceived decision that has exposed Nigeria to a whooping $496 million in damages? It is important to know why the government of Yar’Adua took that decision and for what purpose.
Read Also: Ajaokuta: Fed Govt paid S496m in final settlement of contractual dispute, says Malami
However, with the dispute now settled, we look forward to a revamping of the nation’s “jewel” of industrialisation. The Ajaokuta Steel Plant which has gulped millions of dollars must not die. After all, the plant and the natural resources are still there. Likewise, the nation’s railway system, which the government of President Buhari has improved tremendously. Perhaps, the lot will fall on the next government to restore the glory of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant, which included all conceivable facilities of a modern city, including a power plant.
As a matter of fact, no national development plan would succeed without adequate supply of steel, and since we are blessed with iron ore, the natural resource for steel, we ought to have been a medium economic power more than 60 years after independence. No doubt, our leaders have mismanaged the enormous opportunities presented by the National Development Plan which was designed to place our country on the part of industrialisation. Of the several big ticket projects, the Ajaokuta Steel Plant is amongst the most audacious.
But Nigeria can be great again, if she is able to elect a leader with the capacity to dream big. Luckily, the administration of President Buhari has untangled the Ajaokuta Steel Plant’s legal quagmire for the incoming administration. We urge the Federal Government to diligently execute the terms of settlement. What is expected of the next administration will be to put in place an audacious plan to resuscitate the plant for Nigeria’s benefit.