Senate has expressed concern over the N4.2 billion allocated for personnel costs in the 2024 budget for the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, citing uncertainty about the number of workers employed by the company.
Gatekeepers News reports that this issue arose during an investigative hearing by an ad hoc committee of the Senate into alleged corruption and inefficiency at the company and the National Iron Ore Mining Company from 2002 to date.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, deputy chairman of the committee, questioned the sole administrator of the company, Summaila Abdul Akaba, about the workforce collecting salaries from the N4.2 billion appropriation.
She stated, “Who are the workers collecting monthly salaries from the appropriated N4.2 billion? Statistically, if N300,000 is paid monthly to 14,000 people per month for a year, you get N4.2 billion or N500,000 to 8,400 workers per month in a year. Where are the 14,000 or 8,400 workers in Ajaokuta?”
However, Senator Osita Ngwu, Minority Whip of the Senate, intervened, cautioning against self-indictment since the appropriation was approved by the National Assembly.
The committee chairman, Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire, assured that the submissions made by stakeholders would be thoroughly examined to produce a solution report on Ajaokuta Steel Company for the Senate.
