The House of Representatives on Wednesday mandated Committees on Steel, Priviatisation and Commercialisation and Justice to investigate the concession of the Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill.
It also mandated three standing committees to also probe the affairs and failure of the mill and report back to the house for further legislative actions.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the resolution followed a motion by Ben Nwankwo (PDP-Anambra), which was unanimously adopted without debate when put to vote by the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha.
Nwankwo, while moving the motion, noted that the mill and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMC) in 2005 were concessioned to two India firms without due diligence.
According to him, the concessionaires, Global Infrastructure Holdings Limited and Global Steel Holdings Limited, allegedly operated in ways contrary to the concession agreement.
He said that due to complaints on the operation of ASRM and NIOMC by the concessionaires, the Federal Government revoked the concession agreement of ASRM in 2007.
This, he said, led to protracted arbitral proceedings at the International Centre for Commercial Arbitration in London.
The lawmaker said the pendency of the arbitral proceedings further compounded the woes of the mill.
He, however, said that recent disclosures indicated that the Federal Government had “successfully’’ reacquired ASRM from Global Infrastructure Holding Limited in circumstances not clear.
He said the fate of NOIMC was still not clear.
