Kasim Sumaina in Abuja
The Ministry of Steel Development is seeking to collaborate with the Plateau State Government in reviving the Jos Steel Rolling Mill, now known as the Zuma Steel Rolling Mill.
This is even as the ministry added that it was committed towards fulfilling its mandate of revitalising the steel sector for the benefit of Nigerians.
The Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, gave the hint, weekend, during his on-the-spot assessment of the National Metallurgical Development Centre, NMDC, Jos, in order to ascertain its challenges and opportunities.
Audu, accompanied by the NMDC Permanent Secretary, Dr. Mary Ogbe, opined that no nation could attain greatness without the development of its steel industry, adding that pivotal to the development of the steel industry is research.
He said that the National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC) Jos, Plateau State, was not just a historical asset, but a strategic research engine for the nation’s steel industry growth and development.
Audu also reiterated the federal government’s commitment to improve the country’s economy and grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through the steel industry.
He noted that the sector could only be kept in position to serve its manifold purposes through determined searching and probing that would lead to discovery and improved products and services.
He was of the opinion that the Centre’s mandate to offer research and development inputs necessary for the development of the mining, minerals and allied sectors, with specific focus on the steel industry in Nigeria was very strategic.
The minister pointed out that the center was one of its kind in the West African sub-region with integrated facilities to carry out mineral evaluation, metallurgical processes, adaptation and improvement, mineral and metal testing and environmental pollution studies.
Audi stressed: “The center has the capacity to proactively support the growth of the nation’s economy by developing local capacities along the mineral value chain activities, given the right impetus.
“Research & Development of NMDC activities will be geared towards the domestication of research findings into productive Small and Medium Scale ventures. SMEs are the micro drivers of the economy and going forward, the Centre shall undertake targeted research projects that aims to solve existing industry needs, so as to enable us utilize locally, the various metallurgical raw materials that Nigeria is endowed with.”
In his remarks, the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutftwang assured of the state’s willingness to synergise with the federal government in reviving the steel sector for the growth of the economy.
He stated that the state would directly benefit from the revival of the steel sector as according to him, the Jos steel rolling mill when in full operation will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for the teeming Jos citizens.
In her remarks, Ogbe enjoined the staff to be disciplined and adhere to rules in the discharge of their duties and ensure they work as a team to promote the National Metallurgical Development Centre for optimal productivity.
Earlier, the Director General of the Centre, Prof. Linus Asuquo, said that without research, steel cannot roll.
Asuquo, however, said that with the leadership of the ministers and Permanent Secretary, the agency would become a centre of excellence in minerals and metals research that will be at par with other steel research centres in the world.
