Accusations & Self-Adulation affect operation in Alscon

Sundry allegations of improprieties against Rusal, embattled managers of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria, Ikot Abasi, and self-praise responses from its management seem to be the only products at installed capacity at the company whose ownership and hitch-free operation remain dogged by protracted litigation.

Amid allegations of asset-stripping by some groups of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State on one hand, and strident denial by its managers on the other, the Supreme Court will next month, once again, decide who should own the troubled aluminium plant.

At war over ALSCON's ownership are its current managers, the Russian company, AC Rusal and BFIG, an American company, which a judgment of the Supreme Court in July last year favoured to have won the bid to buy ALSCON. Enforcement of the apex court's judgment has undergone curious twists and turns, with Rusal digging in, the BPE finally cancelling in January this year BFIG's successful bid, and the BFIG crying conspiracy and once again relying on the Supreme Court to reclaim what it affirms is legitimately its property through its victorious bid process and the apex court's decision last year.

Rusal, however, remained unperturbed by the crisis.

But according the purported beneficiaries in Ikot Abasi, especially community leaders and the youth, Rusal has been stripping its assets for sale, with a view to rendering it a carcass in the event a new owner eventually comes in.

The petitioners said the "action of the company was not in the best interest of the plant and the community" and is not an indication the company was overcoming its travails. It urged Rusal to discontinue "the stripping of the plant, including the re-bagging of alumina and coke, as well as dismantling of electrical bussbars assemblies for sale."

It also called on the ALSCON managing director to comprehensively address the various areas of concern, including arranging a facility tour of the plant for members of the community to enable them see things for themselves. The company's workers, under the aegis of the Metal Products Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, MPSSAN, have reinforced the Mboho Ikot Abasi allegations.

BIFG Group has also accused Rusal of devaluing ALSCON's assets from N130bn in 2006 to N30bn.

But Tatyana Smirnova, ALSCON's director of public and governmental affairs dismissed the allegations as misleading and not corresponding to reality. What is happening at the plant, she explained, is that "ALSCON is cleaning its territory from unrealizable assets, obsolete and not suitable for use equipment which cannot be utilised for production of aluminium."

According to her, the company was acquired by Rusal based on an agreement that the federal government would provide reliable and sustainable gas supply to run the plant at full steam. Unfortunately, after six years of operation, the federal government is yet to solve the problem of adequate gas supply, leading to substantial loss of revenue and raw materials, and low capacity utilisation.

Early this year, ALSCON announced temporary suspension of its production and embarked on a staff reduction programme, citing uncertainty over the legal ownership of the plant and insufficient gas supply as reason for its action. Amid these challenges, the company maintains it has been addressing the critical social needs of the people and the host communities.