By Yemi Olakitan
The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is dedicated to the resurrection and repositioning of Ajaokuta Steel Company, according to Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru Abubakar.
This company will be able to produce military gear to support the fight against insecurity in Nigeria.
This was revealed by the Minister during his meeting with Mr. Sumaila Abdul Akaba, Managing Director of Ajaokuta Steel Company, and Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, Minister of Steel Development, at Ship House, Abuja.
According to Badaru, Ajaokuta Steel Company was well-known for producing military gear locally and that collaboration with the Ministry of Steel Development was necessary because steel makes up 80–90% of the materials needed to produce military hardware.
He said that bolstering the company’s ability to manufacture military weapons will help the country combat insurgency and other associated crimes rather than depending on imports.
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“We cannot rely on other countries for military hardware because of the current crisis in our country, so local production of military hardware is critical,” he stated.
The Minister has ordered that “a Technical Committee be set up to determine what to produce, the raw materials to use, cost of reviving the production centre as well as to determine sources of funding” in order “to actualize the revitalization of the Company.”
As members of the Technical Committee, he asked the Permanent Secretary, the Director-General of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), and the Managing-Director of the Ajaokuta Steel Company to work hard and aim high in order to produce a report outlining the next course of action in two weeks.
Ajaokuta Steel’s revival, according to Minister of Steel Development Prince Shuaibu Audu, would revolutionise Nigerian industry and the country’s economy overall.
He said that production had stopped because of a lack of funding.
However, I think that during the first four years of the current Bola Tinubu administration, Ajaokuta Steel will be revitalised and operations will resume if initiatives are put in place.
The purpose of the meeting, according to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, was to bring the conversation up to date with the company’s current state and devise a methodical plan for bringing the company’s aspirations of a four-year turnaround to reality.
