Business
AN economist and public policy expert, Dr Dan D. Kunle, has urged President Bola Tinubu to take what he described as a final and decisive decision on the future of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO).
Kunle made the call in an open letter to the President titled, “It Is Time to Make a Final Decision on Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and NIOMCO.”
He said that after nearly five decades of unsuccessful efforts to revive the steel complex, Nigeria should shift attention from repeated promises of rehabilitation to a sustainable industrial strategy.
According to him, Ajaokuta was conceived as the backbone of Nigeria’s industrialisation, expected to supply steel for railways, power infrastructure, construction, defence equipment and manufacturing.
He, however, lamented that the project had failed to fulfil its mandate despite decades of government interventions, investments and policy reviews.
Kunle said successive administrations had continued to promise the revival of Ajaokuta and NIOMCO without achieving commercial steel production.
He noted that the steel complex had never produced liquid steel, while its associated facilities remained largely underutilised.
According to him, repeated technical committees, negotiations and announcements have yielded little beyond raising public expectations.
The economist expressed concern that Nigeria had also wasted a generation of engineers and technical experts trained specifically for the steel industry.
He said many professionals returned from overseas training only to spend their careers waiting for projects that never became operational.
According to him, the country lost valuable technical expertise alongside the huge financial investments committed to the steel project.
Kunle argued that government should no longer focus on preserving the existing corporate structures of Ajaokuta and NIOMCO.
He maintained that Nigeria’s objective should be steel production rather than maintaining institutions that had failed to deliver on their mandate.
He added that industrialisation should not remain tied to organisations that had become commercially unviable.
He said that continuing to allocate public funds to the companies amounted to committing scarce resources that could otherwise support power, transportation, healthcare, education and industrial infrastructure.
According to him, the real cost of Ajaokuta extends beyond financial expenditure to lost economic opportunities and abandoned industrial development.
Kunle urged the Federal Government to direct the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to undertake a comprehensive commercial valuation of all Ajaokuta and NIOMCO assets.
He said the exercise should involve engineers, accountants, lawyers, estate valuers and environmental experts to determine the true commercial value of the facilities.
He maintained that government could not effectively restructure assets whose value had never been properly established.
The economist further proposed dissolving the existing companies and unbundling their assets into commercially independent business units.
He recommended transparent privatisation of viable assets while converting the broader estate into a free trade zone capable of attracting diverse private investments.
According to him, hospitals, housing estates, workshops and utilities within the complex should operate independently rather than remain tied to an inactive steel company.
Kunle also proposed transforming the complex into the “Midlands Free Trade Zone” to serve as a manufacturing, logistics and industrial hub.
He said the zone should be managed professionally by the private sector while government focused on regulation.
According to him, the area possesses strategic advantages, including existing infrastructure and proximity to power generation facilities that could support industrial growth.
He further called for full accountability over past investments, contracts, concessions, arbitration proceedings and rehabilitation programmes associated with Ajaokuta.
According to him, any evidence of negligence, abuse of office or corruption should be investigated to restore public confidence in the management of national assets.
Kunle urged Tinubu to seize what he described as a defining opportunity to bring closure to decades of uncertainty surrounding the project.
He called on the President to dissolve Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and NIOMCO in their current form, complete a comprehensive asset valuation, privatise viable business units and repurpose the complex into a modern industrial free trade zone driven by private investment.
He said such a decision would transform dormant public assets into productive economic resources and create a lasting industrial legacy for the country.
F.O
Tags: Ajaokuta Expert Tinubu