By Oscarline Onwuemenyi

ABUJA — The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) yesterday expressed worry over plans by the Federal Government to sack over 2,000 staff of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) and the Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Itakpe.

In a statement signed by President of NSE, Mr. Kassim Abdul Ali, the society said a plausible option should be explored, adding that the plan would worsen the perennial state of unemployment in the country.

It said the Interim Management Committee of the steel company had requested a pre-operational fund of N400 million to resume commercial production in the light section and bar rolling mill, the wire rod mill and the thermal plant with an assurance to generate about the same amount of revenue monthly but this was not granted.

He said: “We are still of the view that the release of the N400 million pre-operational funds needed by the management committee will go a long way in kickstarting activities in the Ajaokuta plant.

“With this, the plant will be able to generate revenue to pay staff salaries and keep the plant operational.

“At a time that the country is still reeling in the throes of graduate unemployment and high poverty rate, there is no gainsaying the fact that an addition of 2,000 people into the labour market would be most suicidal,” he said.

The NSE President, therefore, called on President  Umaru Yar’Adua to reconsider the decision and grant the request of the interim management the benefit by releasing the pre-operational funds of N400 million.

He said: “As a matter of fact, a key index for measuring development is the rate of steel consumption. We appeal to the president to use his good offices to stop the planned sack of the workers when there is a plausible option.

“We also encourage Mr. President to hold further consultations with stakeholders on the way forward for the steel sector in view of its importance to the development of the nation,” he said.