Nigeria spends N1.6trn on steel import annually

Nigeria spends N1,620 trillion on importation of steel annually, the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Abubakar Bawa Bwari, has said.

Speaking in Lagos yesterday at the 2018 Steel Summit, the minister said the present administration was addressing the issue.

He said the ministry, which was generating N700m at the inception of the administration, was now remitting N3 billion through payment of royalty alone.

“It is in realisation of this that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari identified the Steel industry as one of the key components of the Economic Diversification Agenda. The Nigerian economy expends about $4.5 billion on steel imports per year which could be saved if they can be produced minister said.

He said the administration had succeeded in making some inroads in assembling $600m investment fund for the sector, working with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, the Nigerian Stock Exchange and other financial institutions.

“All these efforts at addressing the ease of doing business in Nigeria have led to improved ranking in sector locally,” the specific assessment of our mining jurisdiction. However, they need to be consolidated by the private sector which should develop mineral value-chain activities on the mined mineral resources and leverage on the successes recorded in this sector so far.

“For instance, the establishment of smelting facilities will add value to the minerals and generate huge businesses with attractive financial benefits. Steel remains one of the most important technologies of the industrial revolution and the most valuable industry that any nation which hopes to break through the barriers of modern technology must establish,” the Minister said.

The permanent secretary of the ministry, Abdulkadir Mu’azu, urged private sector operators to complement government policies by playing by the rules and promoting local contents.