The Federal Government will soon unfold its blueprint for the<\/p>\n
rehabilitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company and the National Iron Ore
\nMining Company, Itakpe, in Kogi State.<\/p>\n
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, disclosed
\nthis on Monday after conducting an inspection tour of facilities at the
\ntwo companies.<\/p>\n
Fayemi said government\u2019s position had become imperative due to dwindling
\nfortunes of the oil sector.<\/p>\n
He said government would come up with a realistic decision that would
\nenable it turn the steel sector into a viable sector and lay the
\nfoundation for future industrialisation of the country.<\/p>\n
Fayemi, who was accompanied on the tour by the Minister of State in the
\nministry, Hon. Abubakar Bwari, said government had obtained necessary
\ninformation and facts about the two companies from relevant stakeholders.<\/p>\n
He added that the tour was to confirm the information and facts at the
\ndisposal of government.<\/p>\n
The minister said: \u201cOur mission is to ensure that this plant works.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe methodology to achieve this will be informed by what we see on ground
\nand facts at our disposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Muhammadu Buhari has not formed an impression yet. He is
\nlooking at many ways before taking a decision on the basis of our findings
\nand reports to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fayemi said government was studying the experiences of some steel
\nproducing countries with a view to charting a way forward for Nigeria.<\/p>\n
He said : \u201cWe are studying how these countries succeeded in building
\nseveral plants many years after we have started our own. What did they do
\nright and what did we do wrong to find ourselves at the present
\nsituation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he was optimistic that the plant would work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plant will work. President Buhati is very passionate about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fayemi , together with the minister of state, Bwari and other top
\nofficials of the ministry were conducted round the various plants in the
\n43 units of the Ajaokuta steel complex.<\/p>\n
The Sole Administrator of Ajaokuta Steel Company, Engr Isah Onobere,
\nlisted four options on the best way out for the company and how
\ngovernment could lay solid foundation for the country\u2019s economic
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
Onobere urged the government to call for expression of interest from
\nexperts for the rehabilitation, completion and commissioning of the steel
\nplant to avoid further deterioration of equipment and facilities.<\/p>\n
At NIOMCO in Itakpe, the Sole Administrator, Alhaji Yau Ibrahim, urged the
\nminister to assist in the completion of some ongoing projects which were
\ncritical to the survival of the plant.<\/p>\n
He said the steel sector was still largely untapped, adding that iron ore
\ndeposit at Itakpe is about 197 million tonnes and sufficient to support
\nproduction of steel at Ajaokuta Steel Company for a period of 35 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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. The Minister of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n