All Africa reported that Zuma Steel West Africa Limited barred a group of journalists and officials of the Bureau of Public Enterprises on a post privatization visit from entering the premises.

Mr Innocent Ezuma CMD of the company said that “He only received a letter from BPE on January 7th 2010 concerning the visit. The letter was delivered on January 7 even though it was dated on the December 15. So immediately we received the letter, I told them that I am happy and will welcome them to the mill. But unfortunately, the date that was fixed was not comfortable for me because I was not close to anywhere around Abuja.”

Mr Ezuma said that "I requested for us to have a meeting and reach a mutual bid which will be good for all of us and that I personally want to attend this meeting with you people.”

Mr Ezuma instructed his acting GM Mr Isaiah Akuma not to allow the journalists in, saying that "Well, they are turned back because we didn't ask them to come."

The BPE, in October 2009, published a report of the visit of its Assessment Committee to the three Inland Steel Rolling Mills in the country which rated Zuma Steel below the Katsina and Osogbo Rolling Mills which were privatized at the same period.

As per report, Zuma Steel formerly known as Jos Steel Rolling Mill was acquired in 2006 after the liquidation of the latter.

The report noted that since Zuma Steel acquired the rolling mill it had only produced 27 tonnes of steel. When the mill was acquired by Zuma, 40 workers were retained at the time to provide skeletal services. Staff salaries were paid from the internally generated revenue accruing from rent on the company's housing estate.

It said that the installed capacity of the mill is 210,000 tonnes per annum. Since Zuma Steel took over the plant, there has been no production, except in December 2006 when 27 tonnes of steel was produced in a demonstration campaign designed to assess the functionality of the machine.

(Sourced from allafrica.com)