The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the builders of the Ajaokuta steel plant, Messrs Tyazhpromexport, for the rehabilitation, completion and operation of the plant, and the National Iron Ore Mining Company.
The Minister of Steel Development, Shu’aibu Audu, signed the agreement on behalf of the FG in Moscow, Russia, a statement by the ministry’s spokesperson, Salamotu Jibaniya, stated yesterday. According to her, the MOU was signed when Audu led a Nigerian delegation to Moscow from September 14 to 21, 2024.
The Ajaokuta Integrated Steel Complex, conceived in 1979, was developed to establish a metallurgical process plant alongside an engineering complex and various auxiliary facilities.
The facility, which remained moribund for decades, is yet to produce a single sheet of steel due to corruption and legal bottlenecks. The complex is meant to generate important upstream and downstream industrial and economic activities that are critical to the diversification of the economy into an industrial one.
However, since assuming office, the minister assured Nigerians that the steel company will begin production and end the import of steel. To achieve this, Messrs TPE experts visited the steel plant and the iron ore mining site at Itakpe for preliminary inspections in August, leading to the invitation for the MoU’s signing.
Members of Tyazhpromexport’s consortium Novostal M and Proforce Manufacturing Ltd., were also involved in the MoU. According to the statement, the Nigerian delegation also inspected the facilities of Messrs Novostal M, located in Balakovo, in the Saratov region of Russia.
Speaking on the development, Audu said the deal is a bold step towards creating a sustainable base for the industrialisation of Nigeria’s economy. He said, “The revival of the steel sector will also reduce importation of steel products into Nigeria, which is estimated at over $4 billion annually and will help save scarce foreign exchange”.
Also speaking, the Russian consortium pledged to meet the expectations of the MoU with the Nigerian government. The executives, however, asked for the provision of an enabling environment by the Nigerian government.
On this trip, the steel minister was joined by Isokpunwu; the Sole Administrator of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Sumaila Abdul-Akaba; the acting Sole Administrator, NIOMCO, Loto Isinmidun, among others.
