President Muhammadu Buhari says the Ajaokuta Steel Complex will generate 1.6billion dollars annually and provide 500,000 estimated jobs for Nigerian youths.
Malam Garba Shehu, the Presidential spokesperson in a statement, said that Buhari said this at the Palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, which he also inaugurated as part of his one-day state visit in Okene, Kogi on Thursday.
Shehu said that the President also spoke of the determination of his administration to position Kogi as an industrial hub as well as a solid mineral power base.
The president explained how the Federal Government achieved the resolution of all legal entanglements that had bogged down the progress of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex.
According to him, the project stands to benefit the people of the state immensely.
“No other single project holds the key to unlocking this vast potential as much as the Ajaokuta Steel Complex which we inherited as a long moribund complex strangulating under a tangle of local and international commercial disputes.
“I am glad to report that as we begin to round off in office, we can genuinely say that our administration has rescued Ajaokuta from all legal disabilities.
”It is now ready for concessioning to a private investor with the right profiles to put it to work for Nigeria in general and Kogi in particular.
”The process has cost this Federal Government over 400million dollars so far, but I consider it money well spent as we move closer to achieving our objective of transforming Kogi State into Nigeria’s iron and steel powerhouse,” he said.
Buhari added:“The benefits of getting Ajaokuta Steel Complex working again are numerous. It would provide over 500,000 estimated jobs and more than $1.6 billion in annual income to the Nigerian economy.
”Nigerians can rest assured that I remain committed to seeing this process to a logical conclusion before the end of my tenure in office.”
The president said that Kogi also stood to benefit in diverse ways when the 614 km (384 mile) AKK gas pipeline which traversed the state commence operations in 2023.
He also affirmed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had delivered on the promises its to Nigerians at all levels.
He said Gov. Yahaya Bello had performed creditably in his two terms as governor of the state.
“We are an administration that prides ourselves in the fulfillment of our electoral promises to the Nigerian people, at both national and sub-national levels.
”This is why I am glad that we have an impressive array of legacy projects through your own state government as proof of our stewardship of Kogi.
“The APC Administration has indelible footprints in Kogi,” he said.
The president cited some of the projects executed by the federal government in the state to include; the Itakpe to Okene bypass, the Obajana to Kabba concrete road and the Itakpe to Warri railway service, among others.
The Obajana – Kabba Concrete Road was built by Dangote Industries Limited under ‘roads for taxes initiate’ (Executive Order 7).
“I am very pleased to be here today to commission several projects executed by the administration of His Excellency, Gov. Yahaya Bello,” he said.
