The Senate has resolved to probe the affairs of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and the National Ore Mining Company in Kogi State from 2008 till date.
It planned to unravel the mystery behind the payment of $496m allegedly made to Pramod Mittal, the Chairman of the Global Infrastructure Holdings Limited by the Federal Government in September 2022 as settlement over contractual disputes.
It also resolved to investigate the circumstances that led to the re-concession of NIOMCO even when the initial concession agreement was validly terminated by the Yar’adua administration with a positive review by the International Chamber of Commerce, London.
Senate’s resolutions to this effect were sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP Kogi Central) and exhaustively debated by many of the Senators.
She said the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and the National Iron Ore Mining Company located in Kogi State were established sometime in the late 70s by the Federal Government with the potential to put Nigeria on the path of technological and industrial advancement and establish the country as one of the leading exporters of steel products in the world.
She lamented that decades after their establishment, the Ajaokuta Steel Mill and NIOMCO have been unable to produce steel despite efforts by successive administrations due to a lack of earnest political will and bureaucratic corruption.
According to her, Nigeria currently expends about $3.3bn annually on steel imports.
