Why Ajaokuta steel company will never work – Dangote

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has cast doubt on the future of the troubled Ajaokuta Steel Company, saying he does not believe the facility will ever function as intended.

In a video shared on the TVC X handle on Tuesday, the president and CEO of the Dangote Group stressed the importance of a vibrant steel sector for Nigeria’s industrial growth and economic development. However, he argued that Ajaokuta’s long-standing challenges have left it beyond revival.

Dangote compared efforts to resuscitate the steel plant to attempting to run outdated technology in a world dominated by modern advancements, insisting that the project has been overtaken by time and innovation.

READ ALSO: Why we sometimes sell fuel at lower prices – Dangote

“There is no nation that you can build without a steel industry and honestly within us here, Ajaokuta will not work. We can keep deceiving ourselves and keep being passionate about it, but it’s not possible.

“It like you now, if you remember those vehicles we used to produce from Volkswagen (Igala) if you bring Igala now, would you now compare it to the current Kia. No, things have changed,” Mr Dangote said.

He emphasised the need for adaptation in a rapidly evolving world.

“Things have changed and all of us have to keep changing or you will become archaic. You have to change, now, when you carry something like Ajaokuta is like you going to the grave yard to bring a dead person or you go to the hospital to bring somebody who is on the dying bed to come and run 100 metres. It’s totally impossible,” he added.

Ajaokuta Steel’s chequered history
The steel company, located in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, was built between 1979 and the mid-1990s. It was not completed and has never operated optimally. It has been moribund for over two decades despite the efforts of different governments.

In September 2022, the Nigerian government agreed to pay $496 million to settle an Indian firm’s claim over the facility. The dispute followed the federal government’s revocation in 2008 of an agreement that handed control of the steelworks and the National Iron Ore Mining Company to the Indian firm.

In cancelling the deal, the Umar Yar’adua administration said the terms of the concession at the time were not favourable to the country.

In December 2022, the government said 11 companies had indicated interest in taking over the steel company on a concession basis. Three of the 11 bidders were Russian companies, the then Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said while listing his ministry’s achievements.

Upon assuming office in August 2023, the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, promised to revive the steel company. At the time, he added that he would set a roadmap for the development of the steel sector, aggressively pursue the completion of Ajaokuta Steel company, and enact the required bills to regulate the sector.

In September last year, the Nigerian government signed an agreement with a Russian Consortium Company for the rehabilitation, completion and operation of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant and National Iron Ore Mining Company in Kogi State.