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The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, has described the recent Federal Government pronouncement on the Ajaokuta Steel Company as a good step in the right direction.
Wabba gave the commendation when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria Forum on Sunday in Abuja.
He said: “In fact, the review of the sale of Ajaokuta Steel Company is one of the best things that happened to this country.
“I have seen that no country in the world develops without having iron and steel in place.
“Because that is what drives development.
“You need to build roads, you need to build bridges, you cannot be importing some of those materials.
“Therefore, the position of Labour is that we support 100 per cent the review of the sale agreement, the taking over of that very important edifice by government.
“It is something that we have commended, we have supported.
“In fact, it is part of our agitations over time when it was sold as scrap.
“What those companies did was to ensure that we cannot produce and we should continue to buy from them.
“That is what they want to do.”
Wabba urged the Federal Government not to relent in its efforts at fashioning out ways of improving the economy, adding that the current decision on Ajaokuta could be extended to other companies sold at a giveaway price.
Wabba noted that the sale of Nigerian companies to foreigners so far had not helped in the development of the economy.
He alleged that people who bought the companies sold at giveaway prices merely kept them under lock and key.
He said: “In some of cases, they did what we call asset stripping.
“They sold the assets, some removed the assets and took them to their countries and closed those companies.
“So, it has never benefitted us.
“For our economy to be stable, we need to produce what we will consume.
“We cannot depend on importation of everything and think we can stabilise our economy and also create the jobs that our youths are yearning for.”
Wabba, therefore, advised the Federal Government to take a firm decision on recovering other companies sold at giveaway prices for the good of the economy and the country.
– NAN
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