The Federal Government has indicated plans to revive all moribund steel companies in the country, more than two decades after a failed privatisation drive left once-thriving plants across Nigeria in ruins.
It stated that the resuscitation of steel assets, whether privatised or government-owned, will ensure they contribute to national development as originally envisaged.
President Bola Tinubu revealed the plan on Wednesday at the inaugural National Steel Stakeholders’ Summit On The Development Of The Steel Sector in Abuja, themed “Rebuilding and Consolidating Nigeria’s Steel Industry: Collaborative Action for Sustainable Growth and Global Competitiveness”.
Recall that in early 2,000, the privatisation policy of the government led to the sale of the inland rolling mills at Oshogbo, Katsina, and Jos, Delta Steel Company, and Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria to private companies, all of which failed and are no longer operational today.
The collapse of the steel industry forced the country to depend heavily on imports. This reliance drains an estimated $4.5bn from the economy annually and exposes critical sectors to global market shocks.
However, the President, in his keynote address, said that by revitalising Nigeria’s steel sector, the government would be igniting the very foundation of industrial growth, job creation, and sustainable development. Tinubu was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
He declared that with the resuscitation of the companies, the country will produce 10 million tonnes of liquid steel annually by 2030 and create over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs. He also announced that a final decision to determine the best deal on the Ajaokuta Steel Plant, following a comprehensive review of their financial, managerial, and technical competencies, is expected to be taken very soon.
The president said, “The Nigeria National Steel Summit is the first of its kind, and it marks a defining moment in the life of our great nation. This is not merely a technical discussion; it is a national imperative. In revitalising our steel sector, we ignite the very foundation upon which industrial growth, job creation, and sustainable development are built.
“Despite our vast natural endowments in iron ore, limestone, and coal, Nigeria imports over 90 per cent of the steel it consumes. The Ajaokuta Steel Company, once envisioned as our industrial crown jewel, stands idle, a monument to abandoned ambition. This is not just an economic failure. It is a threat to our sovereignty.
“How can we build, manufacture, or defend ourselves without the material that enables all three? Steel is more than an industrial input. The steel industry symbolises so many of our unrealised hopes, and it holds the key to unlocking the full measure of Nigeria’s industrial promise. It is the material expression of national strength. It builds our bridges, powers our industries, supports our defence, and lays the foundation for a modern economy.”
Tinubu stated that some of the milestones driving the Federal Government’s renewed steel sector push include the long-awaited operationalisation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and the National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe.
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