Buhari Govt Can’t Complete Ajaokuta Steel Company Works Before 2023 – Minister

The revitalization works on the Ajaokuta steel company plant located in Kogi State would not be concluded before the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari ends in 2023.

The Minister of mines and steel development, Olamilekan Adegbite made the disclosure on Thursday while speaking with state house correspondents in Abuja.

Naija News recalls a 2022 date had earlier been announced by the federal government for the plant to roar back to life but the Minister on Thursday said the COVID-19 pandemic had slowed down the works as well as funds available for it.

He added that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is another impediment to the successful completion of the project.

The Minister pointed out that the delay was clearly caused by major unforeseen circumstances.

In his words, “ I’ve said it before, when we came back from Russia, yes, I went to the public and said, look we will deliver Ajaokuta before the end of this tenure. And I pray that I’ll have a chance to go back and apologize and explain what happened to the people before I leave office.

“ It is due to no fault of ours. Everybody was ready to go, but unfortunately, COVID came in. So, it is a force majeure”

Adegbite however added that the federal government remains committed to the project and a British firm will now take over the project.

He assured further that the $2 million approved for the project had not been paid to the Russian firm but remains safe in the federal government coffers.

The $2 million had been approved since 2020 according to him but war broke out before the firm earlier contracted for the Ajaokuta Steel Company works could mobilize to site and the company in question has stakes in both Russia and Ukraine.

The Minister said, “in October 2019, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and Russia’s Vladimir Putin met at the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi and agreed to revive the uncompleted Ajaokuta steel mill.”

He added that “the money has not even been given to anybody, the Russians can’t get any payment now with the way things are happening in the world. All their accounts are blocked.

“So the $2 million is still with the federal government is just that the President has given the money for that purpose. We had started the process of procurement, then with this war, we can no longer go that way.”

According to the Minister, the British firm has agreed to take over the project at no extra cost to the government and Nigerians would see progress on the work soon.

The “British firm is offering to do it for us free now,” he said, adding that “By the grace of God, we have started an irreversible process. The problem with Ajaokuta is actually what we call force majeure. Nobody thought of COVID, because the plan was to deliver Ajaokuta this year 2022.”