The Federal Government in a bid to revamp the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and the National Iron Ore Mining Company Limited has put in place machinery to receive the Technical Audit Team from Russia.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Oluwatoyin Akinlade in a two-day working visit to the two companies said that plans are on to resuscitate both companies and bring them to operate at optimal capacity.
Akinlade who inspected the facilities at the companies, commended the management and staff of National Iron Ore Mining Company Limited and Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited for their passion and commitment toward keeping the infrastructure of the companies in good shape despite the daunting challenges confronting them.
She said, “The Minister, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite and Minister of State, Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, are assiduously working towards seeing the dream of the two companies starting full operation come to pass.
“Ajaokuta is the future, the bedrock of Nigeria development, the resuscitation must be done, and can be done. Ajaokuta without NIOMCO, is like a car without tyres, hence efforts are being made to resuscitate both companies at the same time to achieve the desired result.”
It will be recalled that in October 2019 in Sochi, Russia, President Muhammadu Buhari had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with President Vladimir Putin of Russian Federation on resuscitation and completion of the Ajaokuta Steel Company.
One of the strategies in that process is the technical audit of the installed equipment.
The Sole Administrator, NIOMCO, Nkechika Augustus, in his remarks noted that the mandate of the company is to provide the basic raw material for iron and steel production.
He added that NIOMCO is required to supply the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited with 2.15 million tons of iron ore concentrate with iron content of 64 per cent in its first phase of operation during which it is expected to produce 1.3 million tons of steel.
“The need to fully complete the rehabilitation of the plants and also acquire additional mining equipment early cannot be overemphasized.
“This is because to meet the first phase of ASCL’s production level alone, NIOMCO should produce and process seven million tons of raw iron ore annually,” he said.
Sumaila Abdul-Akaba, the Sole Administrator of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, informed the Permanent Secretary that the staff are fully prepared to work with the Technical Audit Team and the Ministry to achieve the set goal.
