Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, lamented yesterday that what the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered from a single Nigerian is enough to complete the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company.
He said for Nigeria to experience true development, it must meet its Steel need and also be a big player in the international steel market.
The governor stated this in Lokoja while receiving the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and the chairman and members of the House committee on Steel Development.
Also in the entourage of the committee, which was in the state on a fact-finding mission to the Ajaokuta Steel Company, was the Minister of State for Steel Development, Abubakar Bawa Bwari.
According to Governor Bello, what the EFCC recovered from a single looter was enough to complete the Ajaokuta Steel Company.
His words: “What we need to complete the Ajaokuta Steel is the political will. When we have the will, funding will be easy. The EFCC has collected what is required to complete the project from a single looter.
“The Rt. Hon. Speaker has shown leadership and readiness to support federal government’s initiatives toward economic renaissance. We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for showing concern for the completion of what is potentially the biggest Steel Company in Africa”.
Governor Bello said Dogara has given him encouragement to continue to represent the youths positively in the corridors of power, just as he assured the Speaker that he will not disappoint him and other youths across the country.
Earlier, Dogara hailed the relationship between the executive and the legislature in the state, saying the two arms are in place to support each other for effective governance.
He said, “I am happy that Kogi is an example of wonderful relationship between the executive and the legislature. We are not to fight but to work together to make our people better.
“I have told the Minister of State for Steel Development that the reason Ajaokuta Steel had been moribund was because of lack of leadership rather than fund. Leadership drives development around the world.
“I am happy that today, Nigeria enjoys such highly respected leadership. The international litigation that has held Ajaokuta Steel down for many decades were resolved under the present leadership of the nation.
“We shall work with the Executive to make Ajaokuta Steel Company see the light of the day. We cannot afford to waste such a huge potential”
Credit: Leadership
