FG Sets December Date for NAFCON's Privatisation
From Ahamefula Ogbu in Abuja
Federal Government yesterday unfolded a new programme that would lead to the privatisation of the National Fertiliser Company of Nigeria (NAFCON), Onne in Rivers State.
As a precondition, however, stakeholders in the multi -million naira plant, who met for several hours yesterday at the National Assembly, agreed that workers sacked in the company, would be paid their outstanding benefits amounting to N9.6 billion.
Those at the meeting summoned by the House of Representatives Committee on Industries were the Minister of Industry, Alhaji Magaji Mohammed, Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Dr. Julius Bala, Managing Director of NAFCON, Dr. James Mbu and the former staff led by Mr. Cornerstone Pedro Amachree.
The parties agreed to meet again on August 24 to work out final modalities in the bid to resolve the problem of outstanding worker's entitlements as well as conclusion of the privatization of NAFCON.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Uche Maduako, who presided over the session, said the meeting should be viewed with seriousness and called on the sacked workers who have been spoiling for a showdown to exercise patience.
The chairman suggested that all the stakeholders should meet regularly until the issues are resolved. He however, warned against any attempt to sabotage the initiative by any party which may feel dissatisfied by the arrangement.
Bala, in a speech, told the gathering that lack of title documents over NAFCON was stalling the privatisation, disclosing that potential core investors to the firm would want to see all the titles before the transaction would be consummated.
"There is no title document on NAFCON and that is what is delaying the sale because anyone buying will want title documents," he said.
If they (workers) do not disrupt the exercise, maybe by September or October, the process would have been completed.
"Rivers State government has not been able to give us the Certificate of Occupancy of NAFCON. For eight months, we have been on it but yet to get it. I plan to meet the governor personally over the matter," he noted.
He stated that the only way of paying the retired workers was for the company to be sold and the proceeds used to pay the outstanding entitlements. He dismissed suggestion that money realised from sale of other government concerns be used to pay the workers, explaining that once the companies were sold, the proceeds were remitted to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and then to the Federation Account for sharing among those entitled to it.
The House Committee directed BPE to obtain all title documents to NAFCON landed property within three weeks so that the privatisation programe could commence while other stakeholders would work to smoothen the process to enable the workers get their entitlements.
The meeting however turned down the request by Amachree that minister of Industry accompany him to Port Harcourt to address the sacked staff but directed that security be beefed up in NAFCON to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
Amachree lamented that after serving the country the workers have been messed up, demanding from the minister why a decision was reached to retrench them without their terminal benefits.
He queried the difficulty by the staff to get their pensions which was deducted from their salaries and kept by NAFCON management. In the light of this, he demanded at least N1.2 billion be released from the pension fund which he insisted was in the company's coffers to pay the former staff as an interim measure to ameliorate their sufferings.
Mohammed admitted that the company was in shambles but pledged to do everything possible to assuage the problems of the workers, saying he was familiar with their plight.
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