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The senator representing Kogi Central Senatoral district, Ahmed Ogembe on Friday said that the Ajaokuta Steel Company has the capacity to galvanize and revive the Nigerian economy if given priority attention.
Ogembe stated this while addressing media on the ongoing discussion at the upper chamber of the National Assembly on how to take Nigerian out of the economic recession.
He said the federal government should give priority attention to the revitalisation of the moribund company by means of completion to generate huge employment opportunities.
He said: “if Steel is developed it would be the second highest employer of labour after Agriculture, as it was in America, Europe, India, China amongst others.
“Government should give itself a published deadline in which all transactions, bilateral agreements, concession, privatisation, commercialisation, revamping and commencement of production from start to end.
“Provision for intervention fund for steel development should be made available as it was done in the power sector under NIPP, which was funded by the three tiers of Government,” Ogembe advised.
He said that the last technical audit showed that approximately about 5 billion dollars was needed to complete the external and internal infrastructures of ASCO.
“Nigeria just signed 10 billion dollars rail infrastructural facility which Ajaokuta Steel company would have produced the rail tracks if it was in operation.
“Ajaokuta steel can produce 1.3 million metric tonnes of steel and create over 500,000 jobs.
“Nigeria imports over 3 billion dollars worth of steel products annually, utilized in construction equipments, transportation, vehicles, oil drilling, agricultural inputs, kitchen utensils, and hospital equipments etc.
The Senator expressed worries over massive importation of petroleum products which is gulping over 30 percent of Nigerian forex demand.
“It is an anathema that a nation that is sitting on one for the biggest oil and gas reserve in the world is depending almost solely on imported petroleum products with its catastrophic effect on all sector of our economy” the senator said.
He, however, commended the ongoing effort of private sector to construct new refineries, urging the government to encourage such bold steps being taken to take us out of the quagmire.
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