[T]he Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said that it is unpalatable that Nigeria, will in the next few years, importing approximately 25 million tonnes of processed steel and aluminum products per annum at an estimated cost of $45.5bn.
He urged indigenous industrialists to reverse the situation and produce more of those products locally.
He stated that with improvement in the national steel production capacity, government was working hard to ensure the reduction in the nation’s steel import dependence and so save the money expended on steel importation.
The vice-president spoke during the foundation- laying ceremony of Kam Steel Integrated Project of the Kam Steel Integrated Company Ltd in Jimba Oja, Ganmo, Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on Tuesday. The project is being supported by the Bank of Industry and Wema Bank Plc.
Osinbajo said, “Within the next few years, Nigeria will be importing approximately 25million tonnes of processed steel and aluminum
products and associates directives per annum at estimated cost of $45.5bn. This can be saved.”
The vice-president said steel remained the world’s most important engineering material.
According to him, Nigeria is the 12th largest iron ore resource country in the world and second largest in Africa with two billion metric tonnes of iron ore reserves.
The Vice-Chairman/CEO Kam Industries, Alhaji Kamorudeen Yusuf, said the nation’s research centres for metallurgy, mining and geosciences were grossly underfunded, adding that some of the centres were decaying.
He urged the Federal Government to invest more in generating more geosciences data for private initiatives to work on.
The Deputy Managing Director, Kam Industries Limited, Hajia Bolanle Yusuf, said there could be no meaningful development in Nigeria’s economy without a conscious effort at developing the steel sector.
She stated that KAM’s cold steel rolling mill was fully functional. The Managing Director, Wema Bank, Mr. Segun Oloketuyi, said it was not true that banks were not supporting industrialisation.
According to him, banks in the country are willing to invest in good industrial projects.
The Acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry , Mr. Waheed Olagunju, said BoI had invested almost N10bn in Kam , BoI window and CBN intervention combined. He added that the bank was willing to commit more resources to Kam projects.
He urged industrialists to ensure that the nation was no longer import-dependent, so as to fast-track Nigeria’s economic growth.