…says no budget to fight illegal miners
By News Desk
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olallmikeka Adegbite, Tuesday, said that the eruption of COVID-19 in 2020 was essentially responsible for the non resuscitation of Ajaokuta Steel company in Kogi State.
The minister said that he had after participating in a Summit in Russia in 2019 announced that within 2 years, precisely in the first quarter of 2022, the company would come back on stream.
But according to him, the pandemic struck and stopped the Russians technical experts from coming.
Adegbite who was responding to a barrage of questions posed to him by lawmakers during 2023 budget defence of his ministry with the House of Representatives Committee on Steel Development also said that about $2 billion was estimated for the fixing of the company.
A member of the Committee, Hon. Victor Mela Danzaria had lashed out at the minister, accusing him of not doing enough to get the steel sector working.
The lawmaker had suggested to the committee to withhold approvals for any capital projects of the ministry and focus on resuscitating the company to put Nigeria back on a right pedestal in the steel sector.
Danzaria said: “We have a ministry that the plan is to be a generating ministry that will take over very much other generating ministry in this country. Unfortunately, we are still not there. I am speaking from my heart. It doesn’t matter what’s been happening. We have not taken this ministry where it’s supposed to be. Honourable minister, you are not doing enough. Foreigners are taking away billions of naira. You are not capturing that. We know the mining activity whether illegal is going on. Solid mineral is a ministry especially the solid sector of it. When this thing, I believe we will get where we will compete with oil. Unfortunately, as far as Ajaokuta is concerned, I will be tempted to say that any capital project there should not be approved. Only personnel should be given money.
“We have had meetings with the minister. He has accused us sometime of not increasing his monetary allocation in the past. May be, we were not able to do but I still feel there is more to do in the industry than what is happening right now. There was a time we had a meeting with the Senate on the same issue. The approved was given by Mr. President. We asked the Minister to come and say why there were not releasing money for Ajaokuta. That meeting could not continue. Some of us have travelled wide. We know what the mineral sector is doing around the world. Unfortunately, it’s not happening in our country. Distinguished, Honourable colleagues, if it means not approving capital projects for Ajaokuta and other sectors of the ministry to bring the revival of Ajaokuta, let’s go ahead and do it. I think we should pay the workers and not approve other areas if there. We can’t continue like that. Some things have to happen. The President and the Executive understand what Ajaokuta will do to Nigeria. So, we were not happy that we are here talking about the same thing. We shouldn’t be wasting money in those areas that are not working.”
Credit: Vanguard Newspaper.
