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.

MINISTER OF STEEL DEVELOPMENT VISITS AFRICAN NATURAL RESOURCES AND MINES LIMITED, REINFORCING FG’S COMMITMENT TO REVIVING THE STEEL INDUSTRY ...Congratulates company on its $600 million investment in an Iron-Ore mining site to facilitate Steel production in Nigeria The Honourable Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, on Thursday, September 6, 2024, visited the African Natural Resources and Mines Limited (ANRML), Gujeni Village, Kagarko LGA, Kaduna State reinforcing the commitment of the Federal Government to reviving the steel and metals sector in the country. Prince Audu commended the company on its huge investment in Nigeria and for operating in the Country since 1971, which has contributed to the economic development of the country, noting that ANRML will play a significant role in the ongoing steel sector revival efforts of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR. He also lauded ANRML for the 900-hectare Iron-Ore mining facility where they invested about $600 million for backward integration to facilitate the production of steel. The Minister said that the vision of the current administration is to ensure that all comatose steel plants become operational and for Nigeria to begin steel production before the end of the tenure of President Tinubu, reiterating his commitments to delivery of the vision of Mr. President. “It is very clear that this edifice exemplifies the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose plan is to grow the economy to over $1 trillion by 2030. Steel is the catalyst for industrialisation, and I commend the Africa Industries Group (AIG) for their important role in taking Nigeria to the next level. “I am pleasantly surprised you have been doing business since 1971. I appreciate the Group for believing in the country and creating thousands of jobs, employing in excess of 10,000 staff across the country. “I am urging the company to invest more to meet our local demand for steel. 10 million metric tonnes are being imported into the country, so this company has a role to play in reversing that trend. “The President is very serious about turning around the steel industry, including the revival of Ajaokuta Steel Company and the National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe. We have plans to build an industrial park in Ajaokuta that will house a Free Trade Zone and CNG park. “We need more huge foreign direct investments to reduce pressures on FX and to help us create 80 million jobs in the country under the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President. So, thank you for making such a huge investment in Nigeria,” Prince Audu said. The Group Managing Director of Africa Industries Group, Alok Gupta, thanked the Honourable Minister for his visit, which shows his support to indigenous companies operating in Nigeria, expressing confidence in the revival of the steel and metals sector under the leadership of the Honourable Minister. Mr. Gupta said that the factory is a testament that local validation shows the possibilities of the country. “I thank you for your pledge to support indigenous companies in Nigeria. We are confident we will see a revival in the Nigerian steel industry. We stand by your commitment to the production of high quality steel in the country,” Gupta said.