The Federal Government will soon unfold its blueprint for the rehabilitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company and the National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe, in Kogi State.
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this on Monday after conducting an inspection tour of facilities at the two companies.
Fayemi said government’s position had become imperative due to dwindling fortunes of the oil sector.
He said government would come up with a realistic decision that would enable it turn the steel sector into a viable sector and lay the foundation for future industrialisation of the country.
Fayemi, who was accompanied on the tour by the Minister of State in the ministry, Hon. Abubakar Bwari, said government had obtained necessary information and facts about the two companies from relevant stakeholders.
He added that the tour was to confirm the information and facts at the disposal of government.
The minister said: “Our mission is to ensure that this plant works.
“The methodology to achieve this will be informed by what we see on ground and facts at our disposal.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has not formed an impression yet. He is looking at many ways before taking a decision on the basis of our findings and reports to him.”
Fayemi said government was studying the experiences of some steel producing countries with a view to charting a way forward for Nigeria.
He said: “We are studying how these countries succeeded in building several plants many years after we have started our own. What did they do right and what did we do wrong to find ourselves at the present situation.”
He said he was optimistic that the plant would work.
“The plant will work. President Buhati is very passionate about it.”
Fayemi, together with Bwari and other top officials of the ministry, were conducted round the various plants in the 43 units of the Ajaokuta steel complex.
The Sole Administrator of Ajaokuta Steel Company, Isah Onobere, listed four options on the best way out for the company and how government could lay solid foundation for the country’s economic development.
Onobere, an engineer, urged the government to call for expression of interest from experts for the rehabilitation, completion and commissioning of the steel plant to avoid further deterioration of equipment and facilities.
At NIOMCO in Itakpe, the Sole Administrator, Alhaji Yau Ibrahim, urged the minister to assist in the completion of some ongoing projects which were critical to the survival of the plant.
He said the steel sector was still largely untapped, adding that iron ore deposit at Itakpe is about 197 million tonnes and sufficient to support production of steel at Ajaokuta Steel Company for a period of 35 years.
