Reviving Ajaokuta Steel will save Nigeria $3.3bn yearly – Minister
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode John Fayemi, says if the Ajaokuta Steel Company is working it will save the country about $3.3 billion spent on importation of steel products annually.
Fayemi stated this at the maiden edition of the National Council of Mining and Mineral Resources Development (NCMMRD) conference held yesterday in Abuja.
He said with the Modified Concession agreement signed recently with the Global Infrastructure Nigeria limited, the company has reverted to the Federal Government.
He said the government would soon engage a new core investor with the financial capacity to run the steel complex.
“Our aspiration is to build a world-class minerals and mining ecosystem designed to serve a targeted domestic and export market for mineral s and ores. We seek to rebuild market confidence in our minerals and mining sector and win over domestic users of industrial minerals in order to achieve import substitution,” Fayemi said.
The Minister of Federal Capital Territory Authority, Malam Muhammed Musa Bello said the convening of NCMMRD was very timely as the development of the mineral sector would take Nigeria from dependence on one source of revenue (oil) to other sectors like solid minerals.
Speaking on behalf of host mining communities, the Gbong Gwom Jos and Chairman, Plateau Council of Chiefs, HRH Jacob Gyang Buba said there was need to protect the health and lives of people in communities where mining is taking place to save them from diseases like cancer. OVERLAND AIRWAYS DANA AIR