Nigeria Govt Inaugurates Team To Pilot Ajaokuta Steel Resuscitation

In view of its commitment to diversify the Nigerian economy and drastically reduce its dependency on the black gold, the Federal Government on Monday inaugurated a high-powered team of experts that would hasten the revival of Ajaokuta Steel Plant.

This imminent resuscitation would end the over four decades doldrums that’s led to moribondity and unproductiveness of the million-dollar facility.

The team is tagged Ajaokuta Presidential Project Implementation Team (APPIT).

The Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, unveiled the team on Monday in Abuja,

The team has been saddled with the task of taking the first step in many that would engendered the process of bringing the Steel plant back to contributing to Nigeria’s economic growth and development.

According to Mustapha, the ground works to measure yardstick for effective and coordinated commencement of rehabilitation works on the Steel plant have begun.

He added that President Muhammadu Buhari ratified composition of the implementation team.

Mustapha noted that the primary objective of the revival was to make Nigeria the largest fully integrated steel producer in West Africa and accelerate the country’s industrialization especially in steel related industries to reduce dependency on oil sector.

In light of the above, the SGF said the APPIT will engage every bilateral negotiation that leads to the execution of the Government-to-Government Agreement with the Russian Federation and the Afreximbank on behalf Nigeria.

Mustapha added: “Provide all relevant technical and other inputs necessary to close the Government-to-Government negotiations;

“Ensure that the best extreme possible, all relevant raw materials are sourced locally, bearing in mind the local content provisions and the Presidential Executive Order 005;

“Scrutinize and assemble Nigerian Content Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), Special Purpose Vehicle Contractors which will embody the Co-Concessionaire representing Nigeria’s interest in the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Concession.

“Ensure the resuscitation of Ajaokuta Steel Plant (ASP) based on the original design; and its timely commissioning within a reasonable period to be agreed upon by the parties to the agreement and recommend primary tenure of a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Concession”, the SGF added.