FG Making Efforts To Revive Ajaokuta Steel Company

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Oluwatoyin Akinlade has said that the Federal Government is working to resuscitate the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and National Iron Ore Mining Company Limited at the same time.

Akinlade disclosed this when she paid a working visit to the two companies to ascertain their levels of preparedness ahead of the arrival of a team from Russia scheduled to technically audit the firms.

She said in a statement issued in Abuja by the Assistant Director, Press, Timothy Akpoili, that the Federal Government was committed to resuscitating both companies.

The permanent secretary said the ministry wants the two companies to begin full operations soon saying, “Ajaokuta is the future, the bedrock of Nigeria’s development. The resuscitation must be done, and can be done.”

Akinlade noted that Ajaokuta without NIOMCO was like a car without tyres, hence efforts were being made to resuscitate both companies at the same time to achieve the desired result.

In October 2019 in Sochi, Russia, President Muhammadu Buhari, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to resuscitate and complete Ajaokuta Steel Company.

“One of the strategies in that process is the technical audit of the installed equipment,” the ministry said in its statement.