Why Ajaokuta steel company will never work – Dangote
Aliko Dangote, the President of Dangote Industries says Ajaokuta steel company will never work because of its archaic and outdated technology which is not in tune with today’s realities.
Dangote said those pushing for the resuscitation of the company are just being emotional as the company’s challenges makes its success unlikely.
In a video shared on TVC X handle on Tuesday, Dangote said a thriving steel industry is key to the development of any nation and advised Nigeria to invest wisely and stop wasting money on Ajaokuta.
“There is no nation that you can build without a steel industry and honestly within us here, Ajaokuta will not work. We can keep deceiving ourselves and keep being passionate about it, but it’s not possible.
“It’s like you now, if you remember those vehicles we used to produce from Volkswagen (Igala), if you bring Igala now would you now compare it to the current Kia. No, things have changed.
“Things have changed and all of us have to keep changing or you will become archaic. You have to change. Now, when you carry something like Ajaokuta, it is like you going to the grave yard to bring a dead person or you go to the hospital to bring somebody who is on the dying bed to come and run 100 metres. It’s totally impossible.”
Ajaokuta Steel’s chequered history
The Ajaokuta steel company built between 1979 and the mid-1990s has never worked optimally, and has been moribund for over two decades despite efforts to resuscitate it.
In September 2022, the Nigerian government agreed to pay $496 million to settle an Indian firm’s claim over the facility. The dispute followed the federal government’s revocation in 2008 of an agreement that handed control of the steelworks and the National Iron Ore Mining Company to the Indian firm.
In cancelling the deal, the Umar Yar’adua administration said the terms of the concession at the time were not favourable to the country.
In December 2022, the government said 11 companies had indicated interest in taking over the steel company on a concession basis. Three of the 11 bidders were Russian companies, the then Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said while listing his ministry’s achievements.
Upon assuming office in August 2023, the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, promised to revive the steel company. At the time, he pledged to roll out a roadmap for the development of the steel sector including the completion of the steel company.
In September 2024, the Federal Government signed an agreement with a Russian consortium for the rehabilitation, completion and operation of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant and the National Iron Ore Mining Company.
