Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said at the weekend that the government had resumed discussions with a Russian firm for the sale of the state-run Aluminum Smelting Company (ALSCON) in Akwa Ibom State, south Nigeria.

At an interactive session with the people of Akwa Ibom State onthe need to fully utilize the company to the benefit of the country, Obasanjo said the delay in privatizing the company is a result of the inability of the first bidders to pay the mandatory 10 percent of the bid.

Obasanjo gave the assurance that the ongoing negotiation and subsequent privatization of the company would be concluded by the end of this month.

He said the ALSCON project had been a source of embarrassment to the country. Massive corruption in the process has attracted attention of the Berlin-based Transparency International which ranked Nigeria the second most corrupt country in the world in 2003.

"ALSCON was one project that gave us a bad name. As chairman, advisory council of Transparency International, I had cause to visit the company, and a lot of looting was evident," he said.

Nigeria is wooing foreign investors to participate in its privatization program, especially in the core sectors of power, ports, railways, oil/gas and telecommunications.

Nigeria began the privatization of public enterprises in 1998 aimed at rationalizing the public sector as well as increasing private sector participation in the economy.

Source: Xinhua