The Minister of Steel
Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, has said the President Bola Ahmed
Tinubu administration is determined to revive the economy through the steel
sector.
Addressing
journalists, weekend, in Abuja, Audu said the Ajaokuta steel plant in Kogi
state has been moribund for over 45 years, but that the ministry has the plan
of reviving it within three years as contained in its road map.
He
said: “What makes a developed or underdeveloped country is steel. God has
blessed us with a lot of mineral resources, especially steel. President Bola
Ahmed Tinubu set up this Ministry in August last year because of his love to
develop the country through steel. There are many things we need to do in the
next few months in order to achieve the president’s mandate.
“We
have the target of reviving the Ajaokuta steel plant within 3 years. In our
roadmap, we need to achieve immediate success or short term success. I have
been in talks with the Minister of Works, Senator David Nweze Umahi. I’ve also
been in talks with the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed
Matawalle, so that we can be producing military hardware.
“If you
look at some of the things we are trying to do, we will create hundreds of
direct and indirect jobs. Also, we will be encouraging indigenous companies as
employers of labour who have invested a lot of money in steel production. 90%
of our steel is imported, while 10% is produced in the country. We spend over 4
billion dollars annually to import steel in Nigeria. We want to reverse that by
producing more than we import.
“The
three year plan is for Ajaokuta steel to start working in near full capacity or
in full capacity. We will give it to concessionaires who have knowledge about
steel production. We don’t have the capacity to produce rods and other steels
at the moment, but we need to start from somewhere. We need to listen to
potential concessionaires to know if they have the knowledge about steel
production.
“Industrialization
goes hand in hand with steel production. Many things we use in Nigeria today
contain a certain amount of steel. Whether it is a building project, microphone
stand, TV tripod, name it, steel is needed. We need more steel production
plants to cater for the demands for steel by over 220 million Nigerians. The
Ajaokuta steel plant is not even enough.”