By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief
Contrary to reports that the sale of Delta Steel Company to Global Infrastructures Nigeria Limited (GINL), has been revoked, the senate said Friday that no such decision has been taken.

News of the revocation was said to have unsettled the staff and management of the steel company, as well as, the Aladja Community, where the company is located in Delta State.

But the Chairman of the Senate Adhoc committee probing the privatisation programme, Sen. Ahmad Lawan told Vanguard in Abuja, yesterday, that the committee was still sitting and that it would make appropriate recommendations.

Sen. Lawan told journalists at the committee’s sitting at the National Assembly that his “is just an adhoc committee working for the Senate.  It has not revoked any bid nor sale of any company.  It is still sitting and getting reports from companies and stakeholders.  It will write its report and submit to the Senate to take decisions.

Meanwhile, a legal luminary Barrister Max Ozoaka has warned the Federal Government of the consequences of revoking the sale of the Company to its present owners, saying that it could lead to another round of legal battle with the core investors.

According to him, “the process that led to the sale met the requirement of the Act establishing BPE and therefore legal”, adding, “any attempt to revoke the sale could destroy the efforts of the present administration towards attracting investors to the country”

The lawyer also picked holes in the manner some media reported the issue, which he described as “unprofessional” and could send wrong signals to investors and the international community on the seriousness of the country on economic policies.
Barrister Ozoaka said while it was true that the bid process between BPE and BUA International Limited was inconclusive, the sale of DSC to GINL was legal and therefore binding on all parties concerned.
He argued, “from available information, BUA was said to have won the initial bid on DSC because it offered to pay USD20million which was the highest offer made by the bidders. But BUA’S offer was below the reserved price of USD25million. Because BPE rejected BUA’s offer of USD20million, therefore the bidding on DSC stopped at that stage because there was no preferred bidder and consequently no sale.
“If we just follow Dr. Julius Bala’s testimony before the Senate ad-hoc Committee that BUA offered to pay USD20million but that the Federal Government insisted that the Steel Company would not be sold for amount less than USD25million, how then do you say that the BUA won the bid?”

“Section 2(3) of the Public Enterprises (Private and Company ) Act made provision for the Willing Buyer/Willing Seller option in cases where attempts to privatise based on Competitive Bidding fails. Therefore when bidding process fails as was the case when BUA as the highest bidder could not meet the reserved price, the seller has the right to resort to the Willing Buyer/Willing Seller option which was what BPE did at that time.

“At this point negotiation is open with any willing buyer who is ready to pay the reserved price. It must have been in appreciation of the fact that the bid process has ended that BUA later offered to pay USD25million which BPE rejected because another investor that was also negotiating with BPE has offered to pay USD30million which government had already accepted. Why would BUA go into negotiation with BPE and even offer to pay USD25million if it was sure that it has bought DSC with USD20million?,” Ozoaka queried.

Continuing, he said the remark by the Senate Committee probing the Privatisation that it would recommend to the BPE to revoke the sale of DSC was made in error if it was true as reported, adding that the testimony of the former Director General of BPE was very clear and has no ambiguity.

“Dr. Julius Bala told the committee that GINL later offered to pay USD30million and that based on that offer, the National Council on Privatisation directed him to sign the Share Purchase Agreement with GINL which was approved by the Council. He said that no agreement on privatisation would be legal unless it was approved by NCP and denied signing any letter authorising BUA to pay for the purchase of DSC.

He expressed shock when he was shown a letter purportedly approving that BUA should pay for the Company saying he never signed the letter giving BUA approval to pay. Bala said he was seeing the letter for the first time and that anything could happen in this computer age.

So what again do anyone want to prove that some people are desperate and could go to any length?” the lawyer asked.
Ozoaka noted that the controversy over the Delta Steel sale should concern every well-meaning Nigeria and warned that policy somersault and impunity would only harm the Nigerian economy.

“When Yar’Adua came to power, he was manipulated by some opportunists to terminate sales and concessions entered into by the previous administration with some foreign and local investors.

When you do things like that in a democracy where government is supposed to be a continuum, how then do you expect other investors to have confidence in your government as to stake their time and money when they are not sure what the next administration would do to their investment? We must stop this kind of impunity and arbitrariness,” he advised.

Delta Steel Company like Ajaokuta and National Iron Ore Mining Company were in comatose for more than 10 years before GINL took over their management through concession agreements with the Federal Government and consequently put the companies back into production within a period of three months.

GINL later bought 80% of DSC through a share purchase agreement before the Federal Government terminated the concession agreement on Ajaokuta and NIOMCO. currently, DSC which operates at 30% of installed capacity is the only functional integrated steel company in the country while Ajaokuta Steel Company and the Rolling Mills in Osogbo, Katsina, Jos and NIOMCO are all lying domant.