Abandoned Ajaokuta Steel: All govts after Shagari guilty —Sen Murray-Bruce

Speaking when he led the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Privatization on tour of the projects, Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatization, Senator Ben Murray- Bruce, said the Senate was highly disappointed that successive governments could abandon the projects put in place by former President Shehu Shagari.


Senator Bruce, who blamed previous administrations and governments after Shagari, for the rot and abandonment, said the Senate, after a public hearing, would meet with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to find lasting solution to the problem to ensure that the companies worked.

Bruce, who was angered by what he saw, said: “The presentation has been enlightening. I am deeply depressed as a businessman and as a senator.

“After spending about $5 billion, it does not make any sense to abandon the plant. The government should have had a plan. We are disappointed that successive governments after Shagari abandoned the projects. “There is a public hearing.

We will not leave the venue of the public hearing until we find a solution. After everything, we will meet with the vice president who is the head of the economic team. We will fix this problem.’’

Earlier in his remarks, Sole Administrator of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Isah Joseph Onobere, who described the complex as the bedrock of Nigeria’s development, said the government must be careful about concessioning as any attempt to do so now, would amount to selling out scraps.

According to him, $ 513 million is required to complete Ajaokuta project. “This place is the bedrock of Nigeria’s development. The first phase of the project has reached 98 per cent completion. ‘’It was abandoned in 1994. For 22 years, no new inputs, N23 trillion worth of steel products imported into Nigeria in 9 years. $513 million needed to complete the project. Total investment is $4.6 billion,’’ he said.