The Senate is looking for transparency on the sale of Lafarge cement to Chinese investors – Blueprint Newspapers Limited

Thursday the Senate asked for transparency in the current negotiations for the sale of Lafarge Cement Plc to Chinese investors.

He specifically asked the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to ensure that the “divestment process gives priority to national security and economic sovereignty”.

The Senate approved the resolution following a motion moved by Sen. Salisu Afolabi (Ogun-Central), who told his colleagues that the company, located in the local government of Ogun of the state of Ogun, had been useful in the creation of jobs, “Development of infrastructure and industrial expansion within Nigeria, making it a national asset”.

The legislator claimed that greeting such a key resource raised a series of questions, including local content in the property structure, in national security and the opening of the process to allow an equitable participation in the process.

“The Senate notes that there are ongoing plans for the disinvestment of the company, which involved Chinese investors, who has raised concerns about the potential of foreign domination on this strategic sector in the Nigerian economy;

“It also notes that Holeim AG is destined to sell its participation of 83.8 percent in Lafarge Africa in a Chinese concrete manufacturer, Huaxin Cement Co. in an agreement that enhances Lafarge Africa at $ 1 billion, an agreement that is intended to be aimed in 2025, subject to regulatory approval.

“Aware that the manufacturing industry of cement is a critical sector directly connected to national security due to its meaning in the development of infrastructures, including the construction of roads, bridges, housing and other vital public works.

“The dominion of foreign property in such a sensitive sector also places risks for Nigeria’s economic sovereignty and national security interests.

“Furthermore, aware of the fact that several investors and local parties have expressed interest in participating in the disinvestment process, but have raised concerns about transparency and their limited access to equitable actions”, the motion is read in part.

The motion raises greater concerns regarding “long -term economic implications of the property dominated by abroad of Lafarge Cement Plc, including capital leak, job losses and potential challenges for the regulation of activities of foreign property entities in the strategic sectors”.

However, some senators initially opposed the motion on the basis of a free market system, any investor who met the transaction requirements could aspire to put their money in the factory.

For example, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim has warned against the Senate as a clogging in the federal government plans to open the economy to foreign investments.

According to him, investors should not be feared that they risk having their funds trapped every time they intend to extract by selling their interests.

A similar position was taken by Senator Sunday Karimi, who warned the Senate that he approved any resolution that stopped the sale of the concrete company.

In the end, the motion passed, following the intervention of the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who observed that the main objective was transparency in the transaction, not a stop of the process.

To pass the motion, the Senate imposed its committees on the capital market, trade and investments to monitor the transaction and guarantee compliance with the resolution of the red chamber.