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Ajaokuta Steel: Workers of 45-Year Dormant Plant to Earn ₦6 Billion in 2025 Salaries

By Achimi Muktar

In what many see as a paradox of Nigeria's industrial aspirations, the federal government plans to allocate a staggering ₦6.21 billion for the salaries of workers at the dormant Ajaokuta Steel Company in 2025. Despite being conceived in 1979 as the foundation of Nigeria's industrial revolution, the plant has yet to produce a single sheet of steel.

This budget allocation marks a 44.76% increase—₦1.92 billion more—compared to the ₦4.29 billion approved for 2024. Critics argue that these expenditures only deepen the country’s struggle with industrial stagnation.

A Vision Stalled for Decades

The Ajaokuta Integrated Steel Complex was envisioned as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s industrialisation, featuring a Metallurgical Process Plant, an Engineering Complex, and various auxiliary facilities. Designed to power both upstream and downstream economic activities, it promised to employ over 10,000 workers directly and 500,000 indirectly through ancillary industries.

Equipped with blast furnace technology and four rolling mills, the plant reached 98% equipment installation by 1994. However, mismanagement and poor oversight left it incomplete, with only 40 of the 43 planned units constructed. For over 45 years, Ajaokuta Steel has become a monument to Nigeria’s unfulfilled industrial ambitions.

Failed Revitalisation Attempts

Successive governments have attempted to revive the steel complex. Under former President Muhammadu Buhari, a 2019 Russia-Africa Summit yielded an agreement with Russian support and funding from the Afreximbank. Yet, this effort was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic and later abandoned.

More recently, President Bola Tinubu initiated discussions with Luan Steel Holding Group, a Chinese steel company, in January 2024. While these talks offer a glimmer of hope, no concrete outcomes have been achieved.

The Cost of Dormancy

The Ajaokuta Steel Company continues to drain national resources. Workers employed to maintain the non-operational plant will collectively earn ₦6.21 billion in 2025, raising concerns about fiscal responsibility. Critics question why such funds are allocated to a non-functional facility when Nigeria faces urgent developmental challenges.

Industrial Potential or White Elephant?

Ajaokuta Steel represents both promise and failure. If operational, it could catalyse Nigeria’s transition to an industrial economy, creating jobs and reducing reliance on imported steel. However, its dormant status underscores the challenges of project execution, from mismanagement to shifting government priorities.

What Lies Ahead

As President Tinubu navigates the complexities of reviving Ajaokuta Steel, the question remains: will it finally fulfil its original purpose or continue as a costly relic of unfulfilled dreams? For now, the ₦6.21 billion salary allocation is a stark reminder of Nigeria’s industrial policy paradox.

Stay tuned as efforts to revitalise Ajaokuta unfold, promising either a long-awaited breakthrough or yet another chapter in a decades-long saga.