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Tag: Ajaokuta Steel

  • Kogi Accord candidate to partner with Fed Govt on Ajaokuta Steel

    Kogi Accord candidate to partner with Fed Govt on Ajaokuta Steel

    Ahead of next month’s  governorship election in Kogi State, the candidate of the Accord, Admiral Usman Jibrin (rtd) has promised to work with the Federal Government to breath life into the Ajaokuta Steel industry.

    The former Naval boss made the promise  when he visited  Adogo community on his way to Ajaokuta Local Government  to consult stakeholders.

    Addressing the Ajaokuta residents, Jibrin unveiled his plan to create ‘thousands of jobs and revitalize the local economy.’

    He noted that if he is elected the governor, he would carry out ‘a multi-faceted approach to job creation, including the revitalization of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd, addressing insecurity, and empowering youths in small and medium-scale enterprises.’

    Jubrin said: “My first commitment to job creation involves the revival of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd. This move has the potential to not only generate numerous jobs directly within the company but also to stimulate various downstream industries. The revival of the steel company has long been a dream for the region, and Jibrin’s promise has ignited hope for its restoration.

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    “By creating a secure environment, Ajaokuta and the surrounding areas can attract much-needed investments. A peaceful atmosphere is crucial for businesses to flourish, leading to job opportunities for the local population.

    “We will empower young people through small and medium-scale enterprises. ‘’

    Jubrin stressed the importance of providing training, access to funding, and mentorship to enable youths to establish and grow their businesses. This approach not only promotes entrepreneurship but also helps create sustainable employment opportunities.

    Recognizing the abundant natural resources in the area, the former Naval boss  also suggested attracting renewable energy companies to invest in solar and wind energy projects, creating jobs in the renewable energy sector for the people of the local government and the state in general.

  • Ajaokuta Steel ’ll soon come to life, says Osinbajo

    The Ajaokuta Steel Complex in Kogi State will soon start working again for the benefits of the people, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has assured.

    He gave the assurance at the Civic Centre in the Palace of Attah of  Igala, Dr. Michael Idakwo Ameh Oboni, as part of the administration’s campaign for the coming elections.

    Osinbajo said the Federal Government had gone very far on the rivitalisation of the complex. “Unlike the previous government, we have gone beyond our promises. We have come to the point where we are implementing and I am sure that very soon you will see for yourself that Ajaokuta has come to life,” he said

    The vice president said when completed the project will make business activities in the area to be active and many people will be employed.

    According to him, the government has finally completed the Itakpe-Warri Rail road in preparation for the revitalisation of Ajaokuta Steel.

    “Unlike the previous government, President Muhammadu Buhari is not only a honest man, but also a doer that gets things done.

    “You will need to see for yourself that we are going to test-run the Itakpe-Warri rail road in few days time, and you will see everything that is being put in place,” Osinbajo said.

    He said the administration had employed 500,000 youths under the N-Power initiative and would increase the number to one million when re-elected.

    “Our desire is that every Nigerian should live a good life and have the ability to put food on his table,” Osinbajo said, urging the people to come out en masse and vote for Buhari and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates at all levels in the forthcoming general elections.

    Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello restated that President Buhari had promised that the Ajaokuta Steel would be resuscitated and would be producing for Nigerians.

    He appealed to the people to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and vote massively for all APC candidates, deliver them at all levels and avoid violence.

    The Attah of Igala, thanked the Vice President for coming to Kogi State, especially Igala land.

    “We, the people of Kogi and the entire Nigeria, are very grateful to God for saving your life and that of your crew members. We can see all good works you are doing, and it is left for us to reciprocate it because‘one good turn deserves another.

    “We need to agree and partner with you. Our governor is an indefatigable governor, full of wisdom and very hard working; we promise to support you,” the monarch said.

    Kogi Presidential Campaign Council Director-General, Mr. Edward Onoja, said the state had impacted the lives of the people            across the three senatorial districts.

     

  • Ajaokuta Steel Complex begins operation soon, says Osinbajo

    AJAOKUTA Steel Complex will soon come alive and be running for the benefits of all, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo assured yesterday.

    Prof Osinbajo made the statement at a Civic Centre at the Palace of Attah of Igala, Dr. Idakwo Michael Ameh-Oboni, as part of the administration’s campaign for the February 16.

    According to him, the Federal Government had gone very far on the revitalisation of the complex, adding that “unlike the previous goverrnment, we have gone beyond our promises”.

    He went on: “We have come to the point where we are implementing and I am sure that very soon you will see for yourself that Ajaokuta has come to life.

    “This will make the business activities at Itobe area to come up actively and many people will be employed. We have finally completed the Itakpe-Warri Rail road in preparation for the revitalisation of Ajaokuta steel.

    “Unlike the previous goveenment, President Muhammadu Buhari is not only a honest man, but also a doer that gets things done.

    “You will need to see for yourself that we are going to test-run the Itakpe-Warri rail road in few days’ time, and you will see everything that is being put in place.”

    He said that the administration had employed 500,000 youths under the N-Power initiative and would increase this to one million when re-elected.

    “Similarly, our MarketMoni for market women and artisans, TraderMoni for traders with the target of two milion people.

    “Our desire is that every Nigerian should live a good livelihood and ability to put food on their table and other intervention.”

    He urged the people to come out en masse to vote for President Buhari and all APC candidates at all levels in the forthcoming general elections.

    Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello said what happened on Saturday had shown that God had vindicated us in Kogi, even as he restated support for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the February 16 election, Presdent Muhammadu Buhari.

    He said: “Kogi is for Buhari and APC. I am very confident that our prayers have been answered and we are cruising to victory come Feb 16, because Buhari has fulfilled his promise.”

    The governor restated that President Buhari had promised that the Ajaokuta steel would be resuscitated and become operational.

    Bello appealed to the people to get their PVCs and vote massively for all APC candidates and deliver them at all levels and avoid violence.

    The Attah of Igala, thanked the vice president for coming to Kogi, especially the Igala land.

    Ameh-Oboni said: “We the people of Kogi and the entire Nigeria are very grateful to God for saving your life and that of your crew members.

    “We can see all good works you are doing, and it is left for us to reciprocate it because ‘one good turn deserves another. We need to agree and partner with you

    “Our governor is an indefatigable governor, full of wisdom and very hard working; we promise to support you.”

    Mr. Edward Onoja, the Director-General, Kogi Presidential Campaign Council, noted that the state government had impacted the lives of the people across the three senatorial districts.

  • Union seeks Ajaokuta Steel unbundling

    The Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ISSAN) has urged the Federal Government to unbundle the Ajokuta Steel Company to ensure its effectiveness.

    Its President, Mr Itopa Bello, made the call in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Bello’s call is coming on the heels of the plan by the Federal Government to concession of the steel firm.

    “Ajaokuta has many product entities that have the capacities to stand on their own. It should not be given to a single investor.

    “The autonomous entities in the project should be unbundled and given to different serious investors and there will be competition among operators and they will function well,” Bello said.

    He said steel company was an integrated plant with 43 units, adding that 40 of them had been completed and working effectively.

    “The remaining three, which are the primary and prominent units of the steel company have not been completed and they are not working,” he said.

    Bello said the functioning 40 units should be unbundled because the company had the ability to start and finish a production without requiring input from outside.

    He also said that TPE, the Russian firm that completed the 40 units should be allowed to finish the whole project since it had the knowledge of the production activities of the company.

    He stressed the need for the completion of the remaining components, adding that the company had the capacity to produce the materials required for constructing all the rail-lines across the country.

    “With ‘bluom’ the steel company can produce rods for the telecommunication industry and other sectors of the economy.

    “It is an integrated steel company that has the ability to start and finish a product without sending it to be done elsewhere,” he said.

    The union leader said the company was capable to generate 15,000 direct jobs and 500,000 indirect ones.

    NAN recalls that Nigeria recovered ownership of the company and the National Iron Ore Mining Company Limited, Itakpe, from an Indian firm, following the resolution in her favour, of a 10-year old legal dispute.

    The government, however, signed a peace accord with the Indian firm, Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (GINL), as part of the resolution of the legal tussle.

    The House of Representative Committee on Privatisation, chaired by Ahmed Yerima, on March 1, organised a public hearing on the planned privatisation and concessioning of the steel company.

  • Reps adopt 2 bills to prevent concession of Ajaokuta Steel

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted two bills seeking to prevent the concession of Ajaokuta steel company and to ensure its completion.

    The bills, each sponsored by 301 lawmakers, were introduced for first reading on Wednesday, March 21.

    The bills are: An act to provide for the Ajaokuta Steel Company completion fund and a bill for an act to amend the public enterprise privatisation and commercialisation Act.

    It was then passed for second reading on Thursday, March 22 and subsequently referred to the committee of whole.

    Considering the committee’s report during plenary on Wednesday, the lawmakers resolved to use one billion dollars from the Federal government’s share in the excess crude revenue for the completion of the company.

    The lawmakers also said that the money should be applied by the minister only for purposes of the steel company’s completion, and as approved by the National Assembly.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that there had been a lingering controversy surrounding the Ajaokuta Steel Company.

    The lawmakers had earlier asked President Muhammadu Buhari to direct Mr Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, to stop the process of the concession.

    The bill amending the privatisation Act sought to remove the steel plant from the list of public assets which the Federal Government had powers to privatise or concession.

    The lawmakers also wanted to strip the National Council on Privatisation of its powers as the only body backed by law to decide on which firms should be on the schedule.

    The bills were unanimously adopted by the members when it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara. (NAN)

  • $500m: ‘Why Fayemi disagreed with House on Ajaokuta Steel’

    $500m: ‘Why Fayemi disagreed with House on Ajaokuta Steel’

    Fresh facts emerged yesterday that Minister of Mines and Steel Development Kayode Fayemi disagreed with the House of Representatives over alleged plans by some lawmakers to inject $500 million into the ministry’s budget for Ajaokuta Steel Complex.

    The minister allegedly refused to accept the extra-budgetary allocation because the ministry could not source for such funds.

    He said the House did not take cognisance of an audit report, which indicated that the Steel Complex requires $1.049 billion to be fully on stream.

    But despite two letters sent to the House on why Fayemi and the Minister of State, Bawa Bwari, could not appear before the chamber, the representatives went ahead to pass a vote of no confidence on them.

    The Federal Government was said to have rated the action of the House as “probably premeditated”.

    A top source  in government said the House  of Representatives wanted Fayemi to dance to its tunes and the minister resisted.

    The source said: “It was purely a case of pressure from the House to railroad the minister to take action on the $500 million, which he had no powers to do.

    “The House wanted to use the ministry to legitimise the appropriation of $500  million under the guise of resuscitating the Ajaokuta Steel Complex.

    “Fayemi however refused to be railroaded into being used for extra-budgetary allocation. This is just the crux of the matter.

    “There was no way the ministry could source for $500 million  but the House insisted that the allocation must be in the ministry’s budget. Where will either the Federal Government or the ministry get such a budget?

    “Appropriation is about being realistic, the minister could not build in $500 million into his ministry’s budget what he did not ask for. The House was so passionate about the cash as if there was more to it.

    “Reports from experts have shown that $500 million cannot resuscitate Ajaokuta Steel Complex. By the ministry’s records, about $1.049 billion is actually required to put the steel complex fully on stream.

    “It was curious that the House was harping on $500 million component  to complete the complex without reference to the balance of $549 million for the auxiliary facilities that will me make it functional

    “An audit report by the House also indicated that it is better to source for about $700 million and build a modern steel complex within a record time than sinking $500 million on Ajaokuta Steel Complex.”

    The source added: “Even if the House wanted $500 million for Ajaokuta Steel Complex, it should engage the Executive arm through the Presidency instead of fighting a proxy war with a minister and taking issues personal.

    “At the appropriate time, Nigerians will know what actually transpired and why the House angrily passed a vote of no confidence on Fayemi.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “The minister did not shun the House invitation contrary to insinuations. In fact, two letters were sent to the House requesting for a shift in the day of appearance.

    “The whole decision of the House was like a premeditated action. But the government is already looking into it.”

    In a February 27, letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Abdulkadir Mu’azu, the two ministers explained why they could not honour the invitation of the House.

    The letter said in part: “I write to respectfully acknowledge the receipt of your letter, reference NASS/ SPK/ADM/VOL. II/123 dated 16th February, 2018 on the above subject and to convey to the Honourable Speaker that the honourable ministers will be unavoidably absent in this Special Debate session of the sector.

    “The honourable minister, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his counterpart, the Honourable Minister of State, Hon. Abubakar Bawa Bwari are slated for official engagements during the scheduled period of the debate.

    “The honourable minister has prior diplomatic schedule engagement in preparation to the focal labs of ERGP relating to the mining sector while the Minister of State will be leading the ministry’s delegation to Canada to attend the PDAC Conference.

    “While regretting the ministry’s inability to attend, the honourable ministers greatly appreciate the Hon. Speaker and his members on the interest and genuine concern shown to the sector in organising a debate to discuss a way forward on the Ajaokuta Steel Company.

    In a March 1 , 2018 letter to the Speaker by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Abdulkadir Mu’azu, the Ministers said:

    “I present to you compliments of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and wish to refer to your NASS/ SPK/ADM/VOL. II/235 on the above subject matter (Invitation to Special Session of the House of Representatives at the Sectoral Debate on Iron and steel Sector).

    “As earlier stated in our letter to you, regrettably, the honourable minister would not be able to honour your invitation to the sectoral debate on Iron and Steel Sector due to reasons adduced.

    “Furthermore, the ministry wish to take a strong exception to the content of your letter in paragraph 4 that insinuates that the proposed concessionaire have tied the hands of the ministry. With due respect, we regard this statement as unfair in view of the cordial relationship that exists between our two ministers and the Hon. Speaker and the leadership of the House Committee on Steel and Metallurgy.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development’s hands have not been tied by any imagined proposed concessionaire.

    “This ministry under the leadership of the two ministers is totally committed to the completion and function of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant in view of the fact that steel is the most important engineering material and backbone of industrialization in any economy.”

  • House joins bid to raise $500m for Ajaokuta Steel

    House joins bid to raise $500m for Ajaokuta Steel

    The House of Representatives will join the battle to raise $500million needed to complete the last phase of the Ajaokuta Steel project, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said yesterday.

    He said except the political will is lacking, getting the funds to complete the company should not be an issue, given the importance of the firm to the country’s development.

    Dogara spoke in Kogi State when he led a delegation of lawmakers to the state, which hosts the long-neglected steel firm.

    Dogara said the lawmakers would not support any move to privatize the company because doing so would be tantamount to “concessioning Nigeria’s future”

    The speaker described as “a collective shame to all leaders that the project is yet to be completed after so many years”

    He said the House would consult with stakeholders to work out ways to source for the $500 million adding that leadership problem was responsible for why the project was ledt uncompleted.

    He said there were many ways through which the $500 million could be sourced. He listed the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the Excess Crude Account and the recovered financial crimes loot.

    The Speaker said the House would invite Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Ibrahim Magu to brief the House on how much his agency had recovered from corruption proceeds that could be pumped into the completion of the project.

    He explained that his determination to ensure that the steel company is revived is borne out of the promises that the company held for Nigeria’s teeming population in the form of power and gas development, economic boost, thousands of jobs creation, development of manufacturing sector, development of infrastructure and investor appeal, among others.

    He said: “Imagine if this plant had been completed in 1986, where Nigeria would be at the moment.

    “Any patriotic Nigerian that visits this place will shed tears irrespective of the part the person is from and for a foreigner that visits here, when he hears people describe this place as a shithole, he will go with the impression that it may be true.   We have no reason not to complete that plant.

    “You cannot concession your future, it is never done. I’m yet to see a nation that even concessions its bedrock and still succeeded. If you see one, just tell me. And that’s why previous attempts to concession it were not possible.

    “We keep doing repeating the same things and expecting to get different results. That’s the definition of stupidity and since we are not stupid, we will not repeat it. We can make Nigeria proud so that every black man in the world can beat his chest. Anyone who plans to outsource the completion of this plant will definitely run into problems with us.”

    The team also visited Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello where Dogara said:

    “We all know the benefits of steel development. You cannot be an industrialised nation without developing the steel sector.

    “Of course, I’ve seen the resolution that was passed and adopted by the Kogi State House of Assembly but I feel that this is just not a Kogi issue, this is a Nigerian issue in view of the major promise that this sector holds for Nigeria.

    “I believe that as soon as we put this plant into operation, immediately there will be 10,000 jobs for engineers and technical staff. That’s even as the level of the first phase and talk about other non-engineering staff, thousands again and other splinter opportunities that will come, that’s a projected two million jobs.

    “We don’t need money, all we need is leadership. Wherever you see development anywhere in the world, it is not money that brought it, but leadership. As a matter of fact, it is even leadership that brings the money.”

  • Ajaokuta Steel investor debunks minister’s dispute resolution claim

    A director of Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL), Dr. S. O. Nwanbuokei, an engineer, has debunked a claim by Minister of Mines and Steel Development Dr Kayode Fayemi that the protracted litigation surrounding Ajaokuta Steel has been resolved.

    In his speech at the Second Annual Nigeria Mining Week, the minister said the signing of a ‘Modified Concession Agreement’ between Nigeria and Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited effectively resolved the protracted litigations surrounding the ownership of Ajaokuta Steel.

    “The implication of the signing is that ownership of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited has now reverted to the Federal Government of Nigeria, and we can now proceed to engage a new core investor with the financial and technical capacity to run the steel complex.”

    But, Nwanbuokei, whose firm is a party to the dispute said in a statement that he was not aware of the resolution, nor has a settlement been reached.

    “Although the company expects to be party to the resolution so referred to, we are not aware that the Ajaokuta Steel Company issue has been resolved. We are aware, however, that the delay in resolving the matter is not caused by GSHL. The company has been open to and cooperated in all the requisite terms precedent to an amicable resolution of the matter.

    “We put in all our efforts to conclude the Due Diligence process in the NIOMCO Itakpe with the conviction that the next phases of compliance with the terms of the International Court of Arbitration would be speedily determined. We regret that this has not been the case.

    “We are afraid that a message of a similar incorrect formulation may grossly mislead stakeholders both in Nigeria and abroad. We, therefore, request the statement to be removed from the official website address of the Ministry of Steel.

    “We need to emphasise that GSHL and the FGN are still in mediation claim on assets which is still binding and therefore no investor can come in until this is finally determined. We are also convinced that the over three years of this mediation is more than enough time to have all the associated issues of the Ajaokuta Steel company and indeed the Nigerian steel dream concluded.

    “We, therefore, beseech mediators to eschew extraneous interferences and distractions in order to realise the set objectives of this process,” he said.

  • Over $4.5b investment in Ajaokuta Steel ‘ll be recovered, says DG

    Ajaokuta Steel Company Director-General Sumaila Abdul-Akba has said the over $4.5 billion investment in the company would be recovered as efforts are being made to ensure that the plant becomes  fully operational soon.

    He expressed concern that the steel company had been lying fallow for a very long time, adding that the government is determined to resucitate it.

    Abdul-Akba told The Nation in Abuja that about N10 billion worth of steel and allied products were imported yearly. This development, he said, calls for the revival of the steel plant.

    The United Nations (UN) data estimates that every $1 invested in the Ajaokuta Steel Company will yield about $8. Abdul-Akba corroborated this, saying the plant was viable.

    Minister for Solid Minerals Development Dr. Kayode Fayemi said at a forum that the legal impediments surrounding the steel company had been resolved.

    “I believe the development would speed up the plant’s recovery process,” Abdul-Akba said, adding that the plant will go into the commercial stage, which would involve Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

    He added: “It is going to be a public affair. It is going to be as transparent as possible, and we will be looking for investors both locally and internationally. Those that have the right competence and also the financial strength to get the Ajaokuta steel company to where it is supposed to be.

    “So, the government has good intention, and what I intend to do as the Chief Executive is to first of all stabilise the environment, bring my experience and ensure that the governance system within the company is right and also to ensure that this commercial stage we are going into, all due process would be observed, the best practices would be strictly adhered to.”

    Experts, however, said one major problem confronting the nation’s industrialisation drive, especially in solid minerals and obtaining maximum value from them, was insufficient accreditation laboratories in the country where samples could be analysed. This, they said, had hampered their acceptability  outside the country.

    They noted that there are only three accredited laboratories in the country, adding that there is need for samples to be analysed for them to be more authentic and that information on them will based on the authentic report.

    Abdul-Akba said Ajaokuta’s management will be looking at all the challenges and how to fashion a notable roadmap, which will yield the maximum benefit accruable from the steel company in addition to the benefits derived from mining.

  • Ajaokuta Steel to create 500,000 jobs

    The first phase of Ajaokuta Steel Company will provide 500,000 upstream and downstream jobs when operational, the Federal Government has said.

    The company’s Sole Administrator, Mr. Isah Onobere, made this known during a media tour of the company, last week.

    Onobere said the first phase of the plant would also provide direct employment for 10,000 technical staff.

    He also said the first phase had been completed, adding that it was envisaged to produce 1.3 million tonnes of liquid steel yearly.

    Onobere said it would cost $400 million to complete Ajaokuta Steel, which had reached 98 per cent completion.

    According to him, $2 billion is needed for infrastructure rehabilitation and operational cost.

    Onobere said the government had begun to commit resources toward the maintenance and preservation of the plant’s equipment and facilities. He, therefore, called for improved efforts.

    According to him, the government is considering various options on the way forward for the project’s completion, which includes outright sale, concession and joint venture.

    He, however, denied rumours that the company’s equipment were obsolete, adding that the company can stand the test of time as all its equipment are functioning appropriately.