• Pitches KAM Holdings for Ajaokuta’s mgt
• Gov. hosts Minister of Steel Abubakar Audu
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State and Chairman Nigeria Governors’ Forum on Tuesday, (7th May, 2024) said Nigeria’s industrialisation efforts will yield awesome results once the country maximises its steel potentials through the proposed reforms by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said the move by the Federal government to revive Ajaokuta Steel Company is sacrosanct and key to the industrialisation drive.
The Governor urged President Tinubu to consider Kwara’s KAM Holdings Limited to take over the operation of Ajaokuta Steel Production, citing the prominent contributions of the company (KAM) to the sector in Nigeria.
The Governor was speaking in Ilorin, the state capital, when he received the delegation of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development led by the Honourable Minister of State Prince Audu Shuaib Abubakar who is on a working visit to the state.
According to the Governor, Kwara is arguably the second largest steel production in Nigeria today through activities of KAM Holdings led by Alhaji Kamoru Yusuf.
“As you know, Ajaokuta is an albatross and we are very confident that the company will untie the issues there and make the industry come to fruition. When Ajaokuta was established, it was in Kwara state,” he added.”Once again you are welcome to Kwara. I hope you have a great time here. And the fact you will see will convince you that KAM Holdings is the right company to take over the Ajaokuta Steel Company. It will benefit our country and our state.” He added.
In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor- Mallam Rafiu AJAKAYE, Governor AbdulRahman also commended the Minister for championing the process to revive Ajaokuta, including picking Kwara as their first choice for the fact-finding visit.
The statement reads in part: “I must commend you for stepping out of your office to get the facts right before you formulate a policy for the development of the steel sector. This is highly commendable because going round will enable you to get firsthand facts in moving this sector forward,” the Governor noted.
“This is an industry which could have been located for economic reasons in the Ogun – Lagos southern axis, but for his patriotism and love for his state it is located in Kwara. So, we commend him for that. And I am making a very strong pitch for KAM Holdings in the future of Ajaokuta Steel Production and projects.”
Prince Audu, for his part, said they were in Kwara to encourage indigenous players in the steel industry, a step he noted aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu to scale up industrialisation.
He described Governor AbdulRazaq as a political amazon in Nigeria, and hailed the “unprecedented” achievements of the administration in some key sectors of the economy for the state.
“My visit to Kwara state, today, is to encourage indigenous players in the steel industry. We have been discussing across board with some foreign investors that are interested in coming to Nigeria, but I thought it imperative to also associate, pay a visit and support indigenous players that are doing extremely well in the steel and metal industry in Nigeria,” the Minister said, acknowledging that the Ilorin-based KAM Holding remains the leading indigenous steel company in Nigeria.
The minister also praised Governor AbdulRahman for the developmental strides and massive state of the art projects being led by his administration which according to him is in line with the renewed hope agenda of President Tinubu aimed at growing the size of Nigeria’s GDP to over $1 trillion.