Udoma’s appointment bolsters hope of early resuscitation of ALSCON

There are strong indications that the appointment of Udoma Udo Udoma as a member of the Federal Executive Council will be a big boost to the current efforts aimed at the resuscitation of the multi-million naira Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) located in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State.

Udoma, who hails from Ikot Abasi, is the minister of budget and national planning.

Checks reveal that ALSCON which has since been shut down due to several factors including lack of adequate gas supply, legal issues and security concerns was privatised when Udoma was chairman, senate committee on appropriation and finance and the two-term senator might have played a significant role in the exercise.

The aluminium plant is managed by Rusal, a Russian firm after it emerged the most preferred bidder in the privatisation programme carried out by the Bureau of Public Enterprise on behalf the Federal Government.

 Already, stakeholders from the host community have expressed optimism that  Udoma’s appointment  would facilitate  the reopening  of the plant  as he would draw the attention of President Mohammadu Buhari to the sorry state of the smelter which had been closed since March 2013.

Achibong Umoh and Aniefiok Smith in a statement urged Udoma to use “his exalted position to compel the Russian firm to re-start the plant” saying the continued closure of the smelter was a colossal loss.

Similarly, the management of the company had been forward looking that the appointment of a cabinet would fast-track discussions at the highest level on how the issues facing the plant could be resolved.

Zaviyalev Dmitry, managing director of the company had said in an earlier interview that the absence of “full list of the cabinet ministers in charge of the sector was delaying the process of discussions” adding that the company prepared long term development plant for the resuscitation of the smelter.

According to him, a delegation from the Russian federation has visited country and was present during the presidential inauguration adding that a letter was delivered to President Buhari on steps to be taken to restart the plant.

 He said the management would intensify talks on the issue of gas supply to the smelter noting that without the support and help of the federal government, it might be difficult to restart the plant as soon as the ministers were appointed.

Dmitry rejected accusations that the plant was being stripped of its assets maintaining that several delegations from federal government agencies on a fact finding mission all confirmed that no asset of the company was sold.

 “We are very open company, we have nothing to hide and we have showed that every part of the plant. We would like to say that no part of the plant was being vandalised,’’ he said.

He said the management has brought the very best of its in-house technologies and equipment both in the library and in the aluminium workshop to ensure that the smelter’s operations met all environmental standards.