BFIG President, Reuben Jaja, has alleged that the Director General Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex A Okoh persuaded him to drop his bid for ALSCON for monetary compensation, an offer he said he stoutly resisted.
Jaja made the allegation when he spoke with financial journalists in Abuja recently insisted that while BPE was busy telling the media that BFIG did not have money to pay for ALSCON, Fayemi summoned a meeting for me in his office at the Federal Ministry of Mines & Steel, Abuja.
According to Jaja, “They offered me $35 million to forget about BFIG’s right to ALSCON. They wanted me to sell the Supreme Court judgment to them for $35 million.
“When I rejected the offer outright and walked out of the meeting, DG BPE (Okoh) called me to his office and told me, even if I wanted more, he would be ready to assist in negotiating for more.
“In the midnight, he kept calling my home. I was so annoyed, because I thought they were inviting me to try to find solutions to the problem.”
The BFIG president also alleged that alleged that BPE reduced the original copy of SPA from 58 pages to 16 pages, an act he said eliminated some vital provisions such the issue of gas supply that was contained in the original 58 copies SPA.
Jaja noted that despite the Supreme Court judgment compelling the BPE to handover ALSCON to BFIG, the privatization agency had blatantly refused.
Reacting to the allegations by BFIG president, through a whatsApp message, PBE DG, Alex A Okoh, described the allegations as total falsehood.
The BPE helmsman said that Jaja has already signed the agreement as ordered by the Supreme Court.
According to Okoh “Why did he sign it December last year if it was the wrong one!
“We have a copy of the agreement and we can show it to the press if he wants. The agreement he signed stipulates that he makes payment within 15 days. He has not made any payment. It is very unfortunate that we can allow this kind of irresponsibility from a Nigerian who has done everything to castrate such a vital national asset with no intention change his behavior.
It is very unfortunate. I will not condone it. By the way, why would I offer him money? It is ludicrous. I am the seller of the asset not a buyer. Why would I offer him money? For what? Where do I get the money to offer him and for what purpose? This fellow is desperately trying to muddle up the truth. If he has money to pay in line with the Supreme Court judgment, let him just bring the money. Period! To try and use cheap blackmail to acquire such a strategic national asset for free or through the back door is disingenuous to be frank. It’s not going to happen. No amount of cheap blackmail will make that happen,” Mr. Okoh said.
