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NASS grills Steel Devt Minister, Prince Audu over Ajaokuta Steel take-off

The National Assembly, on Wednesday questioned the Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Audu over the delay in the take-off of the Ajaokuta Steel Company after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Russian company over four months ago.

The Minister faced intense questioning on the said project when he appeared before the Joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Steel Development to defend the Ministry’s 2025 budget proposal.

Meanwhile, the Minister had told the committee that a ‘Technical Audit’ will lay the foundation for the rehabilitation, completion, and operation of the steel plant and the National Iron Ore Mining Company.

According to him, the Federal Government signed an MoU in September 2024 with the original builders of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant, Tyazhpromexport, and their consortium members, Novostal M and Proforce Manufacturing Limited, to conduct the technical audit.

A member of the committee, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, where the project is sited, then asked why the project is yet to take off having signed the MoU over four years ago.

“Honourable Minister, can I ask a question, please? When was the MOU entered into? Can you tell us the month that the MOU on Ajaokuta was signed? We are now approaching the end of January. When will the technical audit start?

In his response, Prince Audu said the technical audit on the plant will commence early February, 2025.

Akpoti-Uduaghan asked again, “Can you tell us when we would expect the Russians with their partners to commence the technical audit because time is going?”

Responding, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Chris Osa-Isokpunwu, stated, “Immediately after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, the ministry commenced the procurement process for the technical and financial audit.

“Advertisements were made, time was given. The stage we are now is preparation to present it to the Federal Executive Council for approval. Once that presentation is made and the Federal Executive Council approves that project, then the technical audit will start.

“What I would say at this point is that as soon as we get the ‘No Objection’ to proceed to the Federal Executive Council by the Bureau of Public Procurement, we will take the memo to the Federal Executive Council. That will be based on the availability of slots for the presentation of memos at FEC. I do not run the Secretariat of FEC”.

Becky Momodu

Becky Momodu is the News Correspondent of Spark News Daily - Nigeria's most sought-after online news platform in Politics, Sport, Entertainment and Religion. She is a graduate of Mass Communication with 15 years of Journalistic engagements.

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