Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite has disclosed that Nigeria with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $440 billion is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.
A statement from the ministry say the minister disclosed this during the official handing over ceremony of the Steel Plant Assets owned by the Standard Metallurgical Company (SMC) in Sagamu, Ogun State to KAM Steel Integrated Company, a subsidiary of KAM Holding.
The company was acquired at the cost of N60 billion.
The minister also said that Nigeria has over 30 steel manufacturers but can only produce 2.2 million tons per annum using scraps and billets imported mainly from china. He said it is on record that Nigeria spends an average of about $3.3 billion importing metals annually.
Represented by the senior special assistant (Technical), Mr Olu Adedayo, the minister maintained that the decline in GDP as a result of the fluctuating oil prices compelled the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to commit itself to the diversification of Nigeria economy, thereby prioritising the development of the minerals and metal and agricultural sectors.
“The management of the ministry has been working assiduously towards the enactment of the Nigeria Metallurgical Industry Bill in order to have an enabling law for effective regulation of the metal sector in Nigeria. The Ministry solicits the support of all stakeholders especially metal sector operators in order to realise this,” the minister pleaded.
“The ministry is also working hard towards fast tracking the operationalisation of ASCL and NIOMCO. The government is encouraging Metal sector operators, especially local producers of metallurgical mineral raw materials and steel metal products to synergise with miners towards ensuring local beneficiation of raw materials in Nigeria.”
Also speaking the chairperson of KAM Holding, Dr Iyadunni Bolanle Yusuf, said, “If Nigeria must come out of the wilderness of poverty, unemployment and insecurity among other social vices, the federal government must deploy its machineries to support local manufacturers in their bids to survive and grow.”
The firm however, promised to create about 10,000 jobs to Nigerians and urged the federal government to expedite actions towards supporting indigenous manufacturers in local capacity building for the Steel Industry in the country.