‘FG is enlarging steel sector for economic diversification’

The Federal Government is running a sustainable economic diversification programme with the revival of ailing metallurgical industries across the country, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Mines and Steel Development, Abdulkadir Muazu, has said.

Muazu spoke in Jos, the Plateau State capital, yesterday, at the opening ceremony of a 2-day metallurgical industry stakeholders forum, North Central zone.

“The ongoing recovery and re-operationalisation of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL), Itakpe; Delta Steel Company Limited Aladja, NIOMCO etc, through commercialization and concession, leaves no one in doubt of the commitment of the Buhari administration towards economic diversification.

“It is an identified fact that steel and other metal development have unarguably remained the bedrock of industrialization, sustainable growth and development of any nation. The Federal Government under President Buhari has within the last four years created the enabling environment for the revival of the metallurgical sector and all other allied metal outfits in the sector with a view to creating jobs and creating wealth for national prosperity,” he said.

In a goodwill message at the forum, the Director General and Chief Executive of the National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC) Jos, Prof Linus Asuquo, said the roadmap to Nigeria’s industrial revolution has been put in place by the Buhari administration and urged stakeholders to key into the processes.