The CSO Coalition for the Revival of Ajaokuta Steel Company has urged the Federal Government to end series of diplomatic tours for the Ajaokuta Steel Complex and begin actual production of steel in the asset.
“Stop touring Ajaokuta, start making steel,” the group’s National Coordinator, Mohammed B. Attah, and National Secretary, Barrister Ayo Adebusoye, said in a joint statement on Monday.
The group insisted Nigeria can no longer afford delays in bringing to fruition the over four decades project.
It said: ” International travels must not merely produce Memoranda of Understanding or investment announcements that fade from headlines within weeks. Nigerians deserve completed projects, functioning industries, expanded manufacturing capacity, and sustainable jobs.”
Its reactions came on the heels of the Federal Government’s recent international investment engagements and diplomatic tours.
The group lamented that for over 40 years, Ajaokuta Steel Company has stood as the single most enduring symbol of Nigeria’s unrealized industrial potential.
It also said successive administrations have announced plans, signed agreements, inaugurated committees, and made international commitments — yet the plant remains substantially idle despite staggering public investment.
It added : “Each unfulfilled promise deepens public cynicism and delays the industrial future millions of Nigerians were promised at independence.If this administration is genuinely committed to economic diversification, job creation, industrialization, and reduced import dependence, Ajaokuta’s revival must become a national priority — not a recurring campaign slogan revived every election cycle and shelved thereafter.”
The group implored the Federal Government to oublish a comprehensive implementation roadmap for Ajaokuta’s revival, with specific milestones and completion dates, as well as report periodically and publicly* on all international negotiations, agreements, and commitments relating to Ajaokuta.
It emphasized the need for the government to ensure full compliance** with the Public Procurement Act, 2007, and all other applicable laws in every procurement and investment process.
According to the group, government should prioritize and and privatize value addition, local content, technology transfer*, and employment for Nigerian professionals and industries.
Government, it further advised, should present a realistic, independently monitorable financing framework** that citizens and stakeholders can track and verify.
It added: “A functional Ajaokuta Steel Company is not a standalone project — it is a foundation. It would stimulate engineering, construction, defence manufacturing, rail development, automobile production, mining, and energy infrastructure, while catalyzing thousands of small and medium-scale industries nationwide. Reviving Ajaokuta is reviving the industrial spine of an entire economy.
The coalition reiterated its readiness to work constructively with the Federal Government, Development Partners, the National Assembly, organized labour, professional bodies, and the private sector to ensure Ajaokuta finally becomes the industrial backbone envisioned by Nigeria’s founding fathers.
It said: “As 2027 approaches, Nigerians will judge this government not by the number of foreign trips undertaken or promises signed, but by tangible achievements that change lives. Ajaokuta’s revival is one of the clearest opportunities this administration has to leave a legacy that outlasts any single term in office.
“The CSO Coalition calls on the Federal Government to convert global engagements into concrete national development outcomes — a fully operational Ajaokuta Steel Company, delivered through privatization or other viable means within a transparent, accountable, and legally compliant framework.”
