Oil mogul, Aliko Dangote has poopooed the ongoing plan by the federal government to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Mill, located in Kogi state. He said the efforts will end up in a fruitless exercise.
The Africa’s Richest Man and owner of the $20 billion Petrochemical Refinery in Lagos made the remark while speaking to some journalists on Tuesday, saying the Ajaokuta Steel reviving project is a big joke.
The business man spoke barely two months after the Minister of Steel Development Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, said the efforts to revive the moribund Steel Mill has reached an advanced stage.
Dangote, however, disagreed with him, saying the efforts will end in futility, saying the Mill is no ,onger in tune with current global technology.
“The steel we are talking about, we will definitely look at the opportunities of doing that. There is no nation that you can build without a steel industry. And honestly, between us here, Ajaokuta will not work. We can keep deceiving ourselves. We can keep being passionate about this. It’s not possible,” Dangote declared.
Speaking in July, Audu had noted that the federal government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) of the plant, as part of the plan to bring it back to life.
The minister added that the government has extended the search for private investors to China to invest in the steel plant, marking it a significant step forward towards its resuscitation finally.
“We are doing a tremendous job. The journey has started, and we will be able to turn Ajaokuta and deliver results very quickly”, Audu said.
Built in1979 by the Russians, the Mill, an integrated Steel Complex was conceived to revolutionize Nigeria’s technological advancement. Unfortunately, it has become moribund for years with no hope of revival, after gulping billions of naira from successive administration in the country.
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