Abuja: Nigeria has committed to repositioning its steel industry as a driver of industrialisation and economic diversification. The Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuiab Audu, stated this at the opening of the maiden edition of the National Steel Summit on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the two-day summit is on the theme ‘Rebuilding and Consolidating Nigeria’s Steel Industry: Collaborative Action for Sustainable Growth and Global Competitiveness’. Audu stated that the commitment aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to grow Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a three-trillion-dollar economy by 2030. He said that the objective of the summit was to appraise the current status of the industry, explore investment opportunities, identify policy and infrastructure gaps, and provide recommendations.
He added that the summit was aimed at deepening collaborative partnerships, knowledge exchange between industry players and policymakers, and inclusive dialogue to forge a common realistic direction for a sustainable Nigerian steel industry. In spite of the history of steel development in Nigeria over the past four and a half decades, the President Tinubu’s administration has shown willingness to address the protracted challenges facing the industry.
The recommendations of the summit would be key to rejuvenating the steel sector in Nigeria and ensuring its sustainable development. The eight-point agenda of the President reflected the critical place of the steel sector in the realization of various goals, especially as it relates to industrialisation, manufacturing, and unlocking the natural resources potential of the country. The steel sector is considered the critical backbone of an industrialised value chain, being the essential base material for significant sectors such as construction, automobiles, electronics, shipbuilding, military equipment, and telecommunications.
The minister noted that though Nigeria was endowed with steel-making raw materials, it was yet to fully exploit its potential for industrial development due to the absence of operational integrated steel plants as off-takers. Iron and steel production would generate employment opportunities and provide capacity for self-sustaining growth, alongside offering a unique opportunity to facilitate a diversified economic base for any nation. Local steel production in Nigeria would drive massive local steel raw materials consumption along with its economic benefits.
The commissioning of the first phase of Ajaokuta Steel Company, alongside the former Delta Steel Company with a combined installed capacity of 2.3 million tonnes per annum, would require about eight million tonnes per annum of local steel raw materials consumption. The industry is made more competitive with the availability of infrastructures like rail, efficient/affordable power supply, access roads to the mines, port facilities/harbors, inland waterways navigations, and natural gas supply. The theme of the summit deliberately speaks to global competitiveness as Nigeria positions itself to become a regional hub in Africa based on various enabling factors.
Declaring the summit open, President Bola Tinubu expressed concern that in spite of Nigeria’s vast natural endowments in iron ore, limestone, and coal, Nigeria imports over 90 percent of the steel it consumes. Represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, he noted that the Ajaokuta Steel Company, once envisioned as Nigeria’s industrial crown jewel, stood idle, a monument to abandoned ambition. Tinubu emphasized that his administration was determined to reposition the steel industry to become a viable sector, declaring an intention to rethink, retool, and revitalize Nigeria’s steel sector.
