According to Nigeria’s Minister of Steel, Shuaibu Audu, imported steel goods cost the country almost $4 billion each year.
The minister made this revelation during a press conference on Thursday to formally announce the inaugural National Steel Summit, set for July 16-17, 2025 at the Nigerian Airforce Conference Centre in Abuja.
Audu expressed optimism that indigenous steel initiatives will start to reverse this loss. He told Nigerians that the first stage of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant would begin operations before President Bola Tinubu’s first term expired.
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This revelation is part of a larger effort to reinvigorate Nigeria’s steel industry.
Back in February, the Nigerian Minister of Steel proposed the Nigeria Metallurgical Industry Bill earlier this year, describing it as a “game changer” for quality control and regulatory monitoring in the industry.
The initiative aims to institutionalize research and development, reduce substandard imports, and enhance investor confidence, opening the road for public-private collaborations and economic progress.
In addition, the Federal Government has sought financial and technical assistance with donor agencies and international corporations to remodel historical assets like as the Ajaokuta Steel Company and the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), hoping to ready them for privatization.
The country’s current administration’s multi-pronged strategy of legal reform, investment deals, donor support, and infrastructure revival could mark a turning point for Nigeria’s steel industry, despite decades of unrealized promise at Ajaokuta and arguments for modernizing it with Compact Strip Production technologies.
Audu stated that the next summit would give a venue for engaging with potential investors and key stakeholders on practical actions to restore and sustain the steel sector, Channels TV reported.
As the summit approaches, stakeholders maybe introduced to some degree of progress, particularly the Ajaokuta pilot operation, which could put an end to heavy reliance on imports and pave the road for industrial self-sufficiency.
This is hardly the only industry draining potential revenue from the West African country. I January reports from the International Trade Centre showed that that the loss from Nigeria’s unrealized export potential is sitting at a whopping N4.6 trillion ($3 billion).
Nigeria also records a loss of $425 per scam as per the Global State of Fraud and Identity Report, making it the third largest victim of fraud in Africa, behind only South Africa and Egypt.
