Federal government of Nigeria says President Muhammadu Buhari‘s administration will no longer complete the Ajaokuta steel plant in 2022 as earlier promised.
Gatekeepers News reports that Olamilekan Adegbite, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development has blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war for frustrating the project on several fronts.
Adegbite disclosed this on Thursday while addressing state house correspondents in Abuja.
The Minister stated that before the pandemic the federal government had successfully convinced Russia to complete the steel facility but could not proceed with the negotiations.
The deal with Russia involved a $2 million fee for a technical audit which is required to ascertain the state of the facility before work would begin.
He further explained that the government moved to continue the negotiations with Russia after the lockdown, but progress was halted again due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
However, Adegbite said the federal government would initiate irreversible processes to ensure the resumption and eventual completion of the steel facility after Buhari’s administration.
“Where we are today, we may not be able to get Ajaokuta to work but I pray that we can start something permanent.
“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 apologise 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,” the Minister said.
Adegbite further revealed that gold mining in Zamfara state has been halted.
The Minister, while commenting on the government’s effort against illegal mining said: “We try to nip them in the bud wherever they rear their heads.”
“With the community reporting to us, we have a quick intervention force. We can’t be proactive; it is too expensive to maintain, but we have a quick intervention force.
“If we hear any mining happening in any nook and cranny, we move in there and dislodge them. Those that are arrested, we confiscate their equipment and they are prosecuted.”
He, however, disclosed that Nigeria has attained self-sufficiency in barite production and would no longer need to import from October 2022.
