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LG chairman wants FG to intervene in ALSCON’s ownership crisis

By on March 24, 2014

The Chairman, Ikot Abasi Local Government Area, Ufot Udoinyang, has urged the Federal Government to intervene in the ownership crisis at the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), Ikot Abasi.

Udoinyang said in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom, on Sunday that the intervention became necessary to make the plant viable again.

The Supreme Court had on July 6, 2012 ordered Russian Aluminum Company RUSAL to handover its ownership of ALSCON to Bidder United States Consortium (BFIG).

He said the intervention would enable the public to know whether the company was owned by RUSAL or BFIG.

Since the ownership crisis, the company that produced aluminum ingots and provided jobs to hundreds of youths in Akwa Ibom had not been in real business.

“Because of the court case, the company is living with fear of the unknown from the management of ALSCON in Russia and the ALSCON management in Ikot Abasi,’’ he said

He suggested a dialogue between RUSAL and BFI group to resolve the crisis.

“The Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) should come over to ALSCON and assess what is going on there so that the company will not close down.

“This is the only company that we have in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area.

“If we lose ALSCON which I suppose is the largest aluminum company in West Africa, it will be too bad for the country,’’ he said.

He said that the plant might close down if government did not take urgent steps to resolve the problems that emanated from the privatisation of the company.

Udoinyang expressed displeasure that the aluminum company was no longer leaving up to its  corporate responsibility as a result of the crisis.

 

 

[Daily Times]