President Bola Tinubu has pledged that Nigeria will emerge as a steel powerhouse by 2030, targeting an annual production of 10 million tonnes of liquid steel.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, August 13, at the inaugural stakeholders’ summit on steel sector development, Tinubu—represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima—reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to positioning the steel industry as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s industrial growth and economic diversification.
He highlighted the creation of the Ministry of Steel Development in 2023 as a clear signal of the government’s intention to fully harness, process, and commercialize Nigeria’s mineral resources, with a particular focus on revitalizing the Ajaokuta Steel Company.
“We are not here to mourn missed opportunities. We are here to make the future,” Tinubu declared, noting the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Tyazhpromexport (TPE) and its consortium to rehabilitate and operate both Ajaokuta and the National Iron Ore Mining Company in Itakpe. He added that proposals from Chinese firms and other partners are also under review, while a technical and financial audit of Ajaokuta is ongoing to guide investor selection.
The president also unveiled additional initiatives, including the construction of five mini-LNG plants valued at over $500 million in partnership with NNPC Limited and private sector stakeholders, as well as an agreement with the Ministry of Defence to produce military hardware at the Ajaokuta Engineering Workshop. Plans are underway to establish an industrial park, a free trade zone, and a military-industrial complex within the steel city.
Alongside these projects, a $465 million investment proposal has been submitted to revive the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria in Ikot-Abasi. Meanwhile, the management of Delta Steel Company—now Premium Steel and Mines—has committed to restarting operations within 18 months. The government has also attracted a $400 million investment from Stellar Steel, part of the Inner Galaxy Group, to build a new plant in Ewekoro, Ogun State, for the production of hot-rolled coils and plates.
Tinubu outlined his administration’s steel sector roadmap, which aims to operationalize Ajaokuta within three years, create over 500,000 jobs, upgrade infrastructure, reform regulations, and build local capacity. He urged the private sector to partner with the government, emphasizing that the scale of transformation needed cannot be achieved by the public sector alone.
