The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, says the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia/Ukraine war stalled planned take-off of full operation of Ajaokuta Steel Company.
In an interview on Sunday, Mr Adegbite said it was regrettable that the federal government could not keep its promise of ensuring full operation due to situations beyond its control.
He, however, said the present administration had already laid a solid foundation for full take-off of the steel company, hopefully by the next administration.
The minister said the federal government had in 2019 engaged Russia in fixing Ajaokuta and had hoped the operation would commence before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime in 2023.
“This is because we had a road map and a timeline, but as they often say in the common parlance, man proposes God disposes,” he said.
He said the plan was to start revamping the company in March 2020 by embarking on a technical…
