BFIG, BPE’s rancour over takeover of ALSCON rages

The controversy between BFIG Group and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) over the reversal of the sale of the Aluminum Smelter Company (ALSCON), Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, has intensified with the each of the parties justifying its position on the privatised company.

The Chairman and Chief Executive of BFI Group, Dr. Reuben Jaja, accused BPE of frustrating his company’s effort to take over as the preferred bidder, while the privatisation agency maintained a contrary position on the matter.

Dr. Jaja alleged that BPE gave a broker a bribe of $35m for him to hands-off his rights on the company.

He told journalists in Abuja that the BFIG Group won the bid on ALSCON since 2004, but that the BPE had been substituting Share Purchase Agreements (SPA) in attempts to deprive his company the ownership of the plant.

He said, “Do you know what happened? In 2012, the Supreme Court of Nigeria on a vote of 5-0 said it was a lie that we weren’t able to pay. The court held that BPE has not even got to the point of demanding payment as we hadn’t signed the SPA. Not one member of the justices declined. The entire five members; including the current Chief Justice, Tanko.”

He also said during the same judgment, the court had ordered BPE to give his company a 58-page SPA, the subsisting SPA on ALSCON.

“I thank God that the Supreme Court vindicated us. Now after that judgment was given, they gave us the SPA which we executed. It was 58 pages, and that agreement was exactly the one that they gave RUSAL of Russia too.

“That 58 pages contain almost all what we agreed to as bidders at a special meeting of BPE and the bidders and it was laid out there that when you win you will come negotiate the SPA. After you have finished that you will have 15 working days to pay and that is when the Supreme Court said you have not even given them the SPA, why are you saying they are unable to pay?.” the BFIG chief querried.

According to him, after BFI had signed the SPA, it demanded from BPE its account for it to credit, but that BPE never supplied the account even after several reminders.

The BFIG chairman also alleged that BPE offered him $35m to forget about the bid, and emphasised that “in order words, I should sell the Supreme Court judgment for $35m. The DG of BPE called me to his office and told me, ‘even if you want more, I can assist you to negotiate to get more,’” he alleged

However, the BPE Director General, Mr. Alex Okoh, dismissed the BFIG chairman’s claims as false.

Okoh said: “That is totally false. He has already signed the agreement as ordered by the Supreme Court. Why did he sign it if it was the wrong one? He signed in December last year. We have a copy of the agreement and we can show it to the press. The agreement he signed stipulates that he makes payment within 15 days. He has not made any payment.”