Nigeria will require a total of $1.425billion to complete and provide external infrastructure for the operation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company, the Sole administrator, Eng. Ismaila Akaaba, has said.
This was even as members of the House of Representatives were unanimous in their rejection of moves to concession the facility, as well as assertions by the acting minister of Mines and Steel Development, Hon. Abubakar Bawa Bwari, that Nigeria lacks local engineering capacity to run the company.
Speaking at a public investigative hearing on the planned concessioning of Ajaokuta Steel Complex and the need to complete the remaining 2 per cent that would make it operational, the Sole Administrator said, $625million will be required to complete Ajaokuta based on technical audit conducted.
While disclosing that the report of the audit is ready for presentation to the president next week, Akaaba also told lawmakers that another $800million would be required to provide external infrastructure for the complex.
Asked if Ajaokuta is a going concern or a dead enterprise, Akaaba said “Ajaokuta is viable project, the machineries are of the highest quality.
He added that “the facility requires replacement of parts which were not installed. And I think Nigeria now has the political will to start Ajaokuta, we don’t have a choice”.
Asked if Nigeria has the local capacity to run Ajaokuta, contrary to the view expressed by the minister that Nigerian engineers lack capacity to run the facility, the Administrator said “yes”! “Some we have, some we don’t have”.
Responding to questions by the Committee chairman, and House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila regarding the benefits of Ajaokuta, the chief executive said the complex requires ten thousand (10,000) technical staff to start at inception, adding that “that’s not part of administrative and other personnel”.
The minister had earlier told the panel that the Ministry didn’t make any provision for the completion of Ajaokuta Steel because government didn’t want to commit more funds that would go down the drain as was in the past. Hon. Bwari told lawmakers that “Ajaokuta is a leaking pipe”.
Gbajabiamila had asked why Ajaokuta, given the concern expressed by the minister with respect to its current state of comatose, would not attract any provision for completion of the remaining 2%.
He added that “it would have been more sensible for government to complete it before concessioning or sale”.
The minister, in his response, said government was made to understand that $8bn had gone into the company with no result, due to corruption and mismanagement.
“Even if the 2 per cent was completed today, government could still not operate it because there are no Nigerians to run it”.
Irked by the minister’s assertions, lawmakers descended on him, expressing disappointment that the Buhari-led administration is not mustering enough political will to rescue Nigeria from foreign dependency in steel importation.
They urged the President to carry out an on-the-spot assessment of Ajaokuta to see things for himself before taking the decision to either sell, concession or complete the remaining 2percent.
This position arose from the Ministry’s argument that only concessioning would save government money and guarantee effective management of the facility.
To this end, Gbajabiamila reminded Bwari that the House and with extension, the National Assembly, has removed Ajaokuta from the list of government assets to be privatised, adding that until investigation proves otherwise, nobody should tinker with the idea of handing Ajaokuta over to any concessioner.
