By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s new Minister of Steel Development, Mr Shuaibu Audu, has promised to revive the Ajaokuta steel company using a different approach from his predecessors.
Ajaokuta Steel Company has not been able to produce liquid steel since it was conceived in 1979 despite successive administrations, including Mr Audu’s predecessor, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite.
Upon his assumption of office, the previous Ministers always promise to revive the moribund Ajaokuta plant, but fail at the end of their tenures.
However, the new sheriff in town, who is the son of the late Abubakar Audu, a former Governor of Kogi State, on his assumption of office on Monday,, said there is a need to revive the facility to enable the country to produce steel.
He added that he would set a roadmap for the development of the steel sector, aggressively pursue the completion of Ajaokuta Steel, and enact the required bills to regulate the sector.
The steel company, located in Kogi State, was built between 1979 and the mid-1990s, but it has become moribund.
Last September, the Nigerian government agreed to pay $496 million to settle an Indian firm’s claim over the facility. The dispute followed the federal government’s revocation in 2008 of an agreement that handed control of the steelworks and the National Iron Ore Mining Company to the Indian firm. In cancelling the deal, the Umar Yaradua administration said the terms of the concession at the time were not favourable to the country.
Last December, the government said 11 companies had indicated interest in taking over the steel company on a concession basis. According to Mr Adegbite, three of the 11 bidders were Russian companies, he disclosed while listing his ministry’s achievements.
Speaking on Monday, Mr Audu said the past leaders recognized the importance of steel development but lacked the political will to achieve its objectives.
“Our past leaders recognized the importance of steel development but lacked the political will to achieve its objectives. The steel development is synonymous with the Ajaokuta Steel plant, whose commencement was over 40 years ago,” the minister said.
“We aim to start the engine and ensure that we produce at least a small sheet of steel within this administration. It is a known fact that steel is the bedrock of any nation’s development; if gotten right, it may be the beginning of our industrial revolution.”
He explained that the creation of the new Ministry of Steel underscored President Bola Tinubu’s mandate in pursuing the nation’s overall development.
In 2020, Business Post reported that the Buhari administration announced that a set of funds amounting to N1.46 billion would come into the country for the reinstatement of the steel plant.
