By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
The federal government has blamed the on-going war between Russian and Ukraine for her inability to deliver the much-awaited Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill project.
This much was disclosed on Thursday in Abuja by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Olamilekan Adegbite during a
Weekly Ministerial Briefing coordinated by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would not be able to deliver on the Ajaokuta Steel project in 2022/23 due to circumstances beyond its control.
The Minister who regretted the government’s inability to deliver on the Ajaokuta Steel Project also blamed the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic for the non fulfillment of the promise to complete the project.
Arch. Adegbite revealed that the federalgovernment had earlier made provision of $2 million for the project and promised to ensure completion of the Ajaokuta Rolling Mill in 2022 but Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine war conspired against the delivery.
Said he: “the federal government had entered into an agreement with Russia to complete the project which had to be discontinued because of the force-majeure caused by Covid-19. And, further efforts to continue with the earlier arrangement after Covid-19 were stalled by the current Russia/Ukraine war”.
“Recall that Russians and Ukrainians built the Ajaokuta Steel Industry when they were Soviet Union. So the war has made it impossible for us to continue to wait for Russia”.
The deal with Russia involved ‘a $2 million fee for Technical Audit’ which was meant to ascertain the state of the facility before the commencement of work but has ran into stormy weather as the contracting firm had interests in the two Eastern European countries involved in the on-going war.
The Minister however disclosed that government took the decision to engage a Saudi- British firm which has agreed to render free audit services to revive the company.
He therefore assured of government’s determination to come up with a deliberate process designed to ensure the completion of the struggling project.
“In October 2019, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and Russia’s Vladmir Putin met at the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi and agreed to revive the uncompleted Ajaokuta steel mill but the project suffered force majeure due to COVID-19”.
“So the $2 million is still with the Federal Government is just that the President has given the money for that purpose. We had started the process of procurement, then with this war, we can no longer go that way.
“The “British firm is offering to do it for us free now. “By the grace of God, we have started an irreversible process. The problem with Ajaokuta is actually what we call force majeure. Nobody thought of the Covid-19, because the plan was to deliver Ajaokuta this year 2022.”
“Where we are today, we may not be able to get Ajaokuta to work but I pray that we can start something permanent. I’ve said it before, when we came back from Russia, yes, I went to the public and said, look we will deliver Ajaokuta before the end of this tenure. And I pray that I’ll have a chance to go back and apologize and explain what happened to the people before I leave office.
“It is due to no fault of ours. Everybody was ready to go, but unfortunately, Covid-19 came in. So, it is a force majeure” the minister concluded.
