MINISTER OF STEEL DEVELOPMENT LAUDS PRESIDENT TINUBU’S CNG INITIATIVE AS PRESIDENTIAL PROGRAM HANDOVER CNG VEHICLES, LAUNCHES CONVERSION INCENTIVE PROGRAM TO TRANSPORTERS IN KOGI STATE ...says Ajaokuta to become one of Nigeria’s CNG hubs The Honourable Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, has lauded the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, as the Presidential CNG Initiative (P-CNGI) launched its pilot Conversion Incentive Program and the handover of CNG buses to transporters in Kogi State. Prince Audu, in his address at the inaugural launch of the CNG initiative program on Wednesday, 02 October 2024 in Lokoja, Kogi State, told Kogites that the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of President Tinubu has been brought to their doorstep, noting that the CNG initiative of Mr. President seeks to reduce the cost of transportation by over 40 percent to cushion the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy. The Honourable Minister also noted that plans are underway to make Ajaokuta one of the CNG hubs of Nigeria, as the Ministry is on the verge of presenting a proposal to Mr. President for the establishment of an Indutrial Park within the Ajaokuta environ, which will also host a CNG park and a Free Trade Zone.  “Mr President said at his Independence Day speech that because Nigeria spends over $10billion annually on fuel subsidy, Nigeria was on the brink of an economic collapse, and therefore he needed to do something very quickly, which was why petroleum subsidy was removed. There are some challenges that have come with that, which is the high cost of food prices, and Mr. President has told all of us that he is doing something to reverse that trend to ensure that prices of food come down quickly, one of which is the provision of CNG Venices to Nigerians.  “Mr. President has mandated that we should have one million CNG vehicles and/or conversions, and it needs to in place before the end of 2025. So, one million vehicles will be converted from petrol to gas in the next year, and this is very significant.  “As the Minister of Steel Development, I want to tell you some of the benefits of this CNG conversion site and the critical role Ajaokuta plays in that light. Ajaokuta is a gas hub for Nigeria. There are gas lines passing from Warri all the way to Ajaokuta, from Ajaokuta to Kaduna and Kano (AKK Pipeline), meaning that there are billions of cubic feet of gas that are being transported from Ajaokuta to other parts of Nigeria annually.  “We are taking a proposal to Mr. President to declare Ajaokuta an Industrial park that will also have a CNG park which will be one of the CNG hubs in Nigeria. And instead of having situations where most of the CNG conversion centres and CNG parks are outside of Kogi State, Ajaokuta has the land, Ajaokuta has the gas, and Ajaokuta has the facility for conversion kit production. The Industrial park will attract steel companies to Ajaokuta. So, anything that we need is within our environs. And most importantly, that will create thousands of jobs for Kogites and Nigerians as a whole.  “So, the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is here and will turn around the economy, therefore, the desire of Mr. President to grow the economy by $1 trillion by 2030, and we will achieve that by the special grace of God,” Prince Audu stated. Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo said that the CNG initiative is a significant milestone in the “Renewed Hope” Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, thanking the President for the initiative, which aims to reduce reliance on petrol, which would in turn alleviate the sufferings of the people. Gov. Ododo, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Elder Joel Salifu Ododo, pledged the commitment of the state to the project, with a promise to train 250 youths in CNG conversion and empower them to enable them to key into global technologies. The Program Director/Chief Executive of the P-CNGI, Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi, said that the P-CNGI chose Kogi for its inaugural launch because the state beyond being a confluence state of water bodies is also significant in the transportation system as a link between the north and other parts of the country, and also hosts an important gas hub.  He said that the event was not designed just to reduce transportation fares for commercial drivers or fulfil Mr. President’s promise to ensure that transporters get their vehicles and tricycles converted for free, but also an opportunity for Nigerians to benefit from the abundant resources of the country, urging everyone to key into the transformative initiative of Mr. President.

THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF STEEL DEVELOPMENT, PRINCE SHUAIBU AUDU, RECEIVED THE AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER TO NIGERIA, MS. LEILANI BIN-JUDA PSM, IN HIS OFFICE TODAY They discussed how to explore opportunities between Australia and Nigeria in the Metallurgical Industry as well as to conclude plans by the Hon. Minister to engage top Australian government officials and Business Executives during the Minister's upcoming trip to Sydney, Australia, where he will be representing Nigeria at the International Mining and Resources Conference Week taking place in October 2024.

HONOURABLE MINISTER, STEEL DEVELOPMENT, PRINCE SHUAIBU ABUBAKAR AUDU SIGNS HISTORIC MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) WITH RUSSIAN CONSORTIUM LED BY TPE AND INCLUDING NOVOSTAL M AND PROFORCE MANUFACTURING LIMITED FOR THE REHABILITATION, COMPLETION AND OPERATION OF AJAOKUTA STEEL COMPANY LIMITED AND NATIONAL IRON ORE MINING COMPANY LIMITED The Honourable Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Aubakar Audu who led a Nigerian delegation to Moscow, Russia from 14th – 21st September, 2024 has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the original builders of Ajaokuta Steel Plant Messrs, Tyazhpromexport (TPE) and members of their consortium namely; Novostal M and Proforce Manufacturing Limited for the Rehabilitation, Completion and Operation of Ajaokuta Steel Plant (ASP) and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) in Kogi State, Nigeria. The process leading to this milestone achievement under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR started in July, 2023 when the Federal Government of Nigeria represented by His Excellency, the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, GCON at the sidelines of meeting of the Russia – Africa Summit at Saint Petersburg called on the Russian Federation to redeem the Steel project which has been comatose for over four and half decades as directed by President Tinubu. This call has now been accepted by the Russian Federation through a consortium led by Messrs, TPE following the visit of their experts to the Steel Plant in Ajaokuta and the Iron Ore Mining site at Itakpe in August, 2024 for preliminary inspections leading to the invitation for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding. The Honourable Minister of Steel Development was accompanied on this important trip by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, the Sole Administrator of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Engr. Sumaila Abdul-Akaba, the Acting Sole Administrator of National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe, Engr. Loto Festus Isinmidun, the Acting Director of Steel & Non-Ferrous Metals department of the Ministry, Mr. Umar Adamu Tsoho and his Technical Adviser, Mr. Anekwe Patrick Chinwuba. The Minister who is driving Mr. President’s mandate for the revitalization, completion and operation of Ajaokuta Steel Plant (ASP) and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) said this is a bold step towards creating a sustainable base for the industrialization of the Nigeria economy. During the visit, the Nigerian delegation met with the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Mr. Alexey V. Gruzdev and the consortium led by TPE who assured the Nigerian Delegation of the readiness of the Consortium to meet the expectations of the MoU with the Nigerian Government.  The Permanent Secretary, Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu in his remark affirmed the commitment of the Nigerian Government to revamp the Ajaokuta Steel Project and National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe. The Nigerian delegation led by the Honourable Minister of Steel; Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu also inspected the facilities of Messrs. Novostal M located in Balakovo in the Saratov region.  The Plant which was in full operation during the visit has an Electric Arc Furnace capacity of 1.2Million metric tonnes of Steel products per annum with a staff strength of 3,900 workers.  The team also inspected the private port facility of the company through which they receive different raw materials for their operations. The President of Metallurgical Holding, “Novostal – M” Demchenko Ivan Ivanovich assured the delegation of their readiness to submit a detailed proposal for the project after the comprehensive audit of the Plant.  The General Director of Messrs. TPE, Mr. Egorov Sergei Anatolevich and the Group Managing Director of Proforce Manufacturing Limited, Mr. Adetokunbo Ogundeyin assured the Nigerian delegation of their commitment to the project because of its critical role in the overall economic development of Nigeria and requested for the provision of enabling environment by the Nigerian Government. The parties expressed their optimism that the full implementation of the MoU will facilitate the revival of both ASCL and NIOMCO and could create over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians and increase the size of the economy by billions of dollars thus contributing immensely to President Tinubu’s desire to grow the economy to over $1trillion by 2030.  The revival of the Steel sector will also reduce importation of Steel products into Nigeria which is estimated at over $4billion annually and will help save scarce foreign exchange.