About N3.4 billion is being wasted every month by the federal government, to pay the salaries of workers who were doing nothing at the Ajaokuta Steel Complex (ASC) in Kogi, State.
Chairman, Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), Alhaji Kola Belgore, made this disclosure, weekend in Ilorin, Kwara State, at a social gathering organised by immediate past president of the Alumni Association of National Institute (AANI), Alhaji Jani Ibrahim, for newly promoted members of Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) from kwara state.
Belgore who was a guest lecturer at the event lamented that despite the huge potentials of ASC, it remained unproductive.
“There are 2500 engines mounted and 6000 employees, and we are paying them N3.4billion as salaries. That is what we paying them for doing nothing monthly,” said Belgore.
Speaking further, the AMCON chairman blamed the unemployment problem on closure of companies and businesses in the country, stressing that the country was importing fuel despite being an oil-producing country; this he said, was making Nigeria a laughing stock among committee of nations.
“The honest truth is that we are not happy and if here we say we are happy, it is because most of us are in a comfort zone of the society, we are privileged in the society. If we ask the masses of this country who are downtrodden, they would tell you they are not happy with the situation of the country.
“The country is virtually static. Things are not moving in the right direction and everybody is keeping quiet. It has nothing to do with politics; it has to do with our collective interest.
“God endowed Nigeria very well with human, material resources yet we are seriously under-performing as a nation. We must wake up and try to do something to move us in the right direction.
“The nation is blessed with petrol (crude oil) and yet we are importing fuel in the country.”
“We are importing petrol and we are the 7th largest producer in the world. What kind of ridicule is that? Yet we all kept quiet. You saw what happened when they were investigating those that said they imported fuel to the country. They did not bring anything yet through connivance they manipulated papers and they were collecting billions as cost of importing fuel. We should begin to look different.
Belgore however boasted that his prudent leadership as AMCON chairman has brought about success, with the company today, having asset of N6 trillion.
The honourees at the event are Corps Marshall of Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, Vice President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Issa Aremu, Assistant Comptroller General of Nigerian Immigration Service, Mr. Bode Opadiran, Corps Commander of Nigeria Medical Corps, Major General Shina Ogunbiyi and the Registrar of Council for Registration of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, Engineer Kamila Maliki.
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