FG Reaffirms Commitment On Ajakuta Steel Company

The Federal government has reafirmed its commitment towards the resuscitation of Ajaokuta Steel company, saying that it has not been neglected.



The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and steel development Dr Abdulkadir Muazu who was represented by the acting Director ( steel and Non-Ferrous metals)  Engr Olasupo Kolawole  stated this at the workshop on stimulation and promotion of activities of small and medium enterprises (SME’s) in the metals sector in Ilorin.

Eng Kolawole said “for the past two three months now, you will see the trend going on in the steel sector, The president and his entourage went to Russia last two month for negotiation on  how to bring Ajaokuta up the under ground work is still  going, hopefully by January everything will be carried by government of Russia and Federal government of Nigeria on how to bring Ajaokuta steel company to streamline

“If you look at Ajaokuta is an integrated plant comprises about 43  industries in one particular place if Ajaokuta should come up, I believe the steel market in the whole of  west African Ajakuta will take over, if Ajakuta should come up it will take care of all west African countries supply them all type of steels product  even in the locally steel which will save us the foreign exchange that we use in  importing steel product
On local manufacture he said”is part of what we are doing now, The small and medium enterprises in that sector are very important we are talking of Ajaokuta, Ajaokuta is the  upstream while the lower is the downstream the public contact with these   lower downstream we are trying to sensitise and promote them what and what will improve their productivity interms of operation, interms of how to  source for fund to carry out their operation.” He said

Dr Abdulkadir Muazu said “The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development which is the organ of Government responsible for ensuring the growth and sustainability of the
metals sector in Nigeria has recognized the SME’S as the engine of growth for the development of the metals industry in Nigeria. The SME’s contributes significantly to wealth creation, employment generation and increase in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”
“importation of metal products has lead to a major drain in the nation’s foreign exchange. We import all kinds of metal products, even those Produced wthin the  country, because the quality of products made in Nigeria are not comparable with those imported and the quantity of metal products made in Nigeria cannot meet the demand in the country. Imported products are also in higher demand in Nigeria due to the fact that they are cheaper.

“This trend has several negative implications which creates ripple effect, Overwhelming poverty due to folding up of SME’s which leads to several jobs being lost, importation continuously increased and reduction of GDP reduced. It is against the backdrop of this and the need to change this narrative that the Ministry of Mines & Steel Development initiated this project.

“The aim and objectives of this workshop is basically to sensitize the SME’s in the Metal Industry in Nigeria on their importance in the sector, the role the Government is expected to play to help in SME’s growth and strategies the SME’s can adopt to develop their business to be able to produce greater quantity and highly  quality so that metal products produced in Nigeria will be able to compete favorably with imported products.

It is no longer news and i believe we are all aware that the Honourable Minister of
Mines and Steel Development, Architect Olamilekan Adegbite and the Honourable Minister of State, Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah declared the growth of Metals industry a priority and the Ministry is ready to support Metals  production in Nigeria
A worksnop was held yesterday to fashion outa downstream mineral policy to the consumption and utilization of Nigeria’s locally produced metal produced” he said Speaking further, the acting Director ( steel and Non-Ferrous metals)  Engr Olasupo Kolawole said “I am very happier because this is the first time the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development is organizing this programme in North Central and Kwara State in particular.

The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development initiated this programme in 2012 with the aim of creating awareness amongst the SMEs in the Metals sector comprising of
foundries, fabricators, welders, manufacturers of spare parts, operators in Aluminum extrusion and allied products.  it is the vision which is fo facilifate the transformation of minerals and metal sector for sustainable industrial growth and economic surplus of the Ministry to see these classes of operators in the metals sector fully integrated with other stakeholders in the industry.

“The Stirmulation and Promotion Workshop is an annual event of the Steel & Non-Ferous Metals Department of the Ministry of Mines&Steel Development which is rotated amongst the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. A sensitization exercise was
conducted by relevant officers of the department in November, 2019 preparatory to this workshop. The exercise was to identify the metals sector SMEs in the selected states, inspect their operational processes and administer  questionnaires to the operators to extract necessary information. The information generated from the refurned questionnaires provided the Ministry with the operators contacts, infrastructural needs, equipment requirements, operating capacities, and challenges faced.  The data base generated from the North Central Zone (B) will aid the Ministry
in formulating favourable policies for the SMEs

Furthermore, the Ministry has also invited relevant reputable stakeholders/partners to make presentations on critical subject areas to improve the performances of the SMEs in the metals sector. The invited resource persons will be addressing the operators on the following: Welding and Fabrication Technology with respect to SMEs in the metals sector, the Imperatives of Industrial Shop Floors Safety and
Best practices the funding Challenges of SMEs and Strategies to Access Funding for SMEs in the metals sector and the Role of SMEDAN in Strengthening Metals Sector
SMES for greater contribution to National GDP.

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