The federal government has inaugurated the Ajaokuta Presidential Project Implementation Team (APPIT) aimed at economic diversification agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
Inaugurating the committee Monday in Abuja, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, said government’s desire is to create opportunities for the development of national global capacity, especially, in the area of industrialisation within a diversified economy.
“The Ajaokuta Steel plant have languished in economic unproductivity for about four decades and previous efforts at reviving it had proved abortive. This has resulted in avoidable massive foreign exchange losses at intolerable opportunity cost to the country.
“The pressing need to redress these avoidable challenges has necessitated this Presidential intervention at this time. This is further underscored by difficulties being witnessed with present challenges in the global oil industry,” he said.
He said the Ajaokuta steel plant has the potential of becoming West Africa’s largest fully-integrated producer that would accelerate industrialisation in steel-related industries.
He said the federal government places a lot of value on the diversification of the economy, which informed President Buhari’s participation at the Russia/Africa summit in Sochi, Russia,m.
The SGF, who is also the chairman of the team, said resuscitation of the Ajaokuta steel plant was one of the benefits Nigeria derived from the summit following a discussion between President Buhari and his Russian counterpart, Mr Vladimir Putin.
Minister of Mines and Steel Development would serve as alternate chairman of the Ajaokuta Presidential Project Implementation Team while members include Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Finance, and the Solicitor-General of the Federation/ Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Justice.
Others are Mr Gabriel Aduda, Sole Administrator of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Sole Administrator of National Iron Ore Mining Co, Mr Vincent Dogo (industry expert), Professor Elegba S. B. (industry expert) , Dr Godwin Adeogba (industry expert), Director-General of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the Director (Steel) in the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.
The team is mandated to engage in all bilateral negotiations as shall be necessary on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria leading to the execution of the Government-to-Government Agreement with the Russian Federation and the Afreximbank;
The team is also mandated to provide all relevant technical and other inputs necessary to close the Government-to-Government negotiations and nsure that the best extreme possible, all relevant raw materials are sourced locally, bearing in mind the local content provisions and the Presidential Executive Order 005, among other things.
