Steel

Abuja, Jan. 18, 2024: The State Minister for Mines and Steel Development, Mr Uba Maigari, has stressed the importance of steel as the back bone for modern infrastructure and industrial development in Nigeria.

Maigari described the minerals and metals sector as the foundation crucial for economic growth and holistic development in Nigeria.

He stated this at the 5th edition of the National Council on Mining and Mineral Resources Development (NCMMRD) meeting in Ilorin, Kwara.

In a press release signed by an official of the Ministry`s Press and Public Relations unit Tine-Lulun on Wednesday, the minister was quoted urging stakeholders to be committed to using the sector to help Nigeria prosper and shore up its development.

“Building a thriving Nigerian minerals and metals industry is not just an economic imperative; it is a national imperative, job creating, empowering communities, and laying the groundwork for a self-reliant, diversified economy,“ he said.

He described the conference as a platform for stakeholders to establish strategic partnerships and chart a path for advancing economic transformation for the nation via its minerals and metals sector.

According to him, the vision for a robust minerals and metals sector can be attained with the natural resources available in the country, saying that the immense potential of the sector assures for a brighter future.

“Despite the fact that the sector is facing hurdles ranging from aging infrastructure to an uncertain global market, the challenges are; an invitation to innovate, collaborate, and think beyond the ordinary.

“That is why I am here today to call on all of you, miners, manufacturers, investors, policy makers, researchers, citizens and businessmen alike, to join hands in a national mission to revitalise our steel industry.

“Let us use this gathering to not just share ideas but to commit to concrete actions and measurable outcomes, “ he said.

He urged stakeholders in the mining industry to prioritise partnership with local communities for mutual benefits, saying the success of the sector intertwine with the well-being of host communities .

News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), reports that the three day conference which started on Jan.15 was themed ` Mineral and Metal sector, a panacea for economic growth and Diversity.

Topics discussed at the conference included: policy reforms, investment opportunities, community engagement, environmental sustainability and fostering innovation in the sector among others.

Abuja, Jan. 12, 2024: President Bola Tinubu on Thursday held a meeting with the Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Audu, and the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru, during which he received briefing on investment prospects in the steel sector.

The President emphasised that a revitalised steel development industry was both a catalyst for robust economic growth and a doorway to immense opportunities for Nigeria’s massive pool of talented entrepreneurs.

“We will remain unyielding in our determination to build a Nigeria where every citizen has an equal opportunity to prosper and achieve their dreams.

“New investments in steel production will spur the growth of so many sectors. Industrialisation will be a reality in our country with sufficient energy and steel.

“Nigerian steel will undergird our economy and other economies in our region in future years.

“I am glad that members of my cabinet have adopted my approach to attracting new investments and job opportunities for our people. Hard work is the only true pathway. We will not relent,” the President stated.

The Ministers informed the President of their discussions with a Chinese company, Luan Steel Holding Group, to build a new steel plant in Nigeria, as well as start the production of military hardware at Ajaokuta Steel Plant.

A delegation led by the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Steel Development had visited Hefei and Guangzhou regions of China to hold business talks with the Chairman of Luan Steel Holding Group, Mr Wang Jianbing; the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Mr Xiao Weizhan, and other senior executives of the Luan Steel Holding Group.

The Chinese company is expected to invest billions of dollars in Nigeria to build the new steel plant.

The Minister of Steel Development briefed the President, following his approval to restart the Light Steel Mill (LSM) section of Ajaokuta Steel Complex for the production of iron rods, on the progress made on restarting the section, which will cost N35 billion at the first stage.

The Minister said several financial institutions had already provided offer letters for this transaction and that the project was expected to create up to 5,000 direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians.

The Minister of Steel Development also informed the President of discussions with the representatives of Jindal Steel Group of India.

Jindal Steel Group had indicated interest in investing up to 5 billion dollars in a new steel plant in Nigeria on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in New Delhi, India, in September 2023, and is now considering either acquiring existing plants or setting up greenfield plants.

According to the Minister, on completion of these deals, about 10 billion dollars worth of investments in both new and existing steel plants in Nigeria will be established.

He these investments will create over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs in the steel industry in line with the President’s massive job creation through industrialisation.

Abuja, Jan. 12, 2024: The Federal Government is to raise about N35 billion for the Ajaokuta Light Steel mill through the local financial market.

Mr Shuaibu Audu, Minister of Steel Development, disclosed this to State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that the mill would produce iron rods to be used in the road construction programme of the administration aimed at creating thousands of jobs in the country.

“The Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, has already written a letter through his ministry, guaranteeing that there will be off takers in the iron rods that are being produced.

“Basically, the precedent is on the Renewed Hope Agenda which the Minister of Works is driving plans to construct about 30,000 kilometres of roads across Nigeria, where they will need about 7 million metric tonnes of iron rods.

“We can produce about 400,000 tonnes of those iron rods in Ajaokuta if we’re able to restart the steel plant. Mr President gave approval for us to raise money locally,” he said.

Audu said that talks were in top gear with the local financiers, adding that it would be finalised in a number of weeks “so as to hit the ground running”.

The minister said that there was also a joint meeting with the Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru, with the President on the issue of the Ajaokuta Steel plant.

He said that this was in respect of the building of a military hardware, explaining that a Chinese firm has shown strong commitment towards the project.

“We’re setting up a military hardware capability in our Ajaokuta Steel plant, and based on that the Chinese people would help us to build that military hardware capabilities in one of the production units.”

Audu said that the entire resuscitation of the steel plant would cost between two billion dollars to five billion dollars.

The minister added that discussion was also done about commitment of a Chinese company during the G20 summit in India to invest five billion dollars in the Steel sector of the economy.

“We’re currently looking for a land that is close to gas station that has a port and that is close to the natural or mineral resources that they will invest in. Either they set up a greenfield or they acquire an existing plan such as the Delta Steel plan.”

He said that the President has approved the setting up of a ministerial committee to oversee the realisation of this investment in the country.

Audu said that the committee would comprise of some critical stakeholders within the government including the Ministers of Finance, Trade and Investments, Defence, Solid Minerals as well as Steel Development.

He added that this new investment was expected to create about 500,000 direct and indirect jobs.

On recent media reports on the cutting off of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant from the national grid, Audu said that the Federal Government would ensure that the issues was quickly resolved.

“So, part of what we plan to do is to sit down on the table in the next few days, as quickly as possible to be able to come up with a plan so that they can put it back on the grid.

“Putting things back in order is a gradual process. Ajaokuta cannot be revived overnight. This is a plant that has not been working for 45 years. Its a difficult task to try and get it back on track.

“We need the support of everyone including the electricity company to be able to help us to get this project back on track so that we can create the 1000s of jobs that we want for Nigerians,” he said.

The federal government (FG) has agreed to partner with a Chinese Company, Luan Steel Holding Group, to build a new Steel Plant in Nigeria.

The partnership hopes to also commence the building of military hardware in the Ajaokuta Steel Plant, Mrs Salamatu Jubaniya, the Head Press and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Steel Development, said in a statement.

She said this formed the crux of the visit by a delegation of the Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Audu, Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Steel Development, Mary Ogbe in their tour of Luan Steel Holding Group in Hefei and Guangzhou Regions of China.

Jibaniya said Prince Audu stated that the trip to China is one of the steps being taken to realise the goals of reviving the Steel Industry in Nigeria in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

She said, according to Prince Audu, work has commenced to create an operational Steel Industry that would attract billions of dollars of foreign direct investments into the country, open up the nation’s economy, and create hundreds of thousands of job opportunities, which form the core of the renewed hope agenda.

He further noted that building Military hardware in the Ajaokuta Steel Plant is also timely, considering that Nigeria is faced with security challenges. Adding that this would help in the fight against insecurity and terrorism.

 “We had very meaningful discussions with the Chairman of Luan Steel Holding Group, Mr Wang Jianbing, the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Mr Xiao Weizhan, and other senior Executives of the Luan Steel Holding Group.

“Like several other international and local investors, Luan Steel Holding Group has indicated interest in setting up a new Steel Plant in Nigeria, as well as handling a component of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant for building military hardware in Nigeria.

“The Minister of Defence and I led this delegation, which includes the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Steel Development, Dr Mary Ogbe, Sole Administrator/Managing Director of Ajaokuta Steel Company, Mr Sumaila Abdul-Akaba, to enable us to have a first-hand look at the Luan steel plants before arriving at a decision.

“With all the commitments on the ground, we are optimistic that before the end of President Tinubu’s administration, we will commence commercial Steel Production in some of the government-owned entities in Nigeria,” she said.

Ilorin, Sept. 11, 2023: The Basic Metal, Iron and Steel Products Manufacturers of Nigeria has commended President Bola Tinubu for his performance towards the nation’s economic growth at the just concluded Nigeria-India economic roundtable meeting in India.

This is contained in a statement from the Chairman of the group, Dr Kamoru Yusuf, on Monday in Ilorin.

The statement said the group, which was an arm of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), also commended the president for attracting 14 billion dollars investment to boost the country’s economy.

According to the statement, the feats recorded by the Tinubu-led administration within 100 days of its inauguration will no doubt accelerate economic recovery and business growth in the steel sector.

“President Tinubu has by all standards demonstrated his love and readiness to support industrialists.

”We, in the Iron and Steel sector of MAN are ready to support his administration with data, workable templates and roadmap that will support him in his endeavour to succeed in his mandates to Nigerian citizens.

“As major stakeholders in Nigeria’s project, we received this news with huge excitement and sense of fulfillment.

”We hope that the breakthrough will further change the game of operations as ‘Risk Takers’ in the nation’s business environment.

”We pledge our unalloyed support to your administration towards ensuring and providing enabling atmosphere for industrialists to continue to thrive,” the statement read in part.

It emphasised that Tinubu’s exceptional efforts in attracting such a substantial investment for Nigeria’s steel sector deserved standing ovation and applause.

The group also promised to continue to support the Minister for Steel Development, Alhaji Shuaibu Audu, in the discharge of his duties at all times.

Abuja, Aug. 31, 2023: The Federal Government has is set to revamp the nation’s steel sector to enhance the economy as well as create employment opportunities.

The Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuabi Audu, said this in Abuja when he met with heads of agencies and departments in the ministry.

Audu said that Nigeria’s abundant mineral resources hold the key to reshaping the nation’s economic landscape and extending the benefits of democracy to every Nigeria.

“By tapping into the latent potential of the steel sector and channeling it into lucrative ventures, we can ensure that the dividends of democracy reach every citizen.

“The steel sector stands as a pivotal pillar of Nigeria’s industrial growth, carrying the potential to provide substantial job opportunities for the youth.

“To realise this vision, the government is fully dedicated to implementing an extensive array of measures designed to attract reputable international investors,” he said.

Audu said that every Nigerian deserves to partake in the benefits that democracy brings, adding that a core tenet of democracy was its ability to uplift individual needs and aspirations.

According to him, the government is steadfastly focused on cultivating an environment conducive to ensuring these advantages.

“In the pursuit of attracting investments, the Federal Government remains resolute in its mission to boost economic growth and empower its citizens through the potential of the steel sector.

“This is by fostering strategic alliances, facilitating investment inflow and cultivating a business-friendly atmosphere, the government envisions a future marked by prosperity, progress, and collective advancement,” he said.

The minister said that Nigeria was ready to take a leading role in the global steel market, adding that the transformative journey was poised to reshaping the nation’s economic trajectory.

“This is to ensure that the benefits of democracy are tangible and accessible to all. ”