- Safiu Kehinde
Nigerian Businessman, Aliko Dangote, has ruled out the chance of reviving the Ajaokuta steel after years of abandonment.
Dangote made this known during a Press Conference held in Lagos on Tuesday.
While admitting to the importance of steel industry in nation building, the African richest man maintained that the Ajaokuta steel company can no longer work, stressing that the world has changed and evolved beyond the facility.
“There is no nation that you can build without a steel industry. But honestly between us here, Ajaokuta will not work. We can keep deceiving ourselves.
“We can keep being passionate about this. It is not possible. Things have changed and all of us have to keep changing because if not, you will become archaic. You have to change.
“When you carry something like Ajaokuta is like you going to a graveyard to bring a dead person or go to hospital to bring somebody who is dying on his sick bed to come and run 100 metres. It is totally impossible.” He said.
Dangote had also in the interview reflected on his investment in the oil and gas sector with the establishment of the Dangote Refinery.
Speaking on the ongoing feud between the refinery and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) over his import of 10,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)- powered trucks, Dangote held that he remains undeterred the pressure from the union.
He allayed concerns raised by NUPENG as he held that the purchase of his CNG trucks will provide more job opportunities for Nigerians.
Dangote also clarified that only 4,000 out of the 10,000 imported vehicles are fuel tankers with the rest being trucks to serve other purposes.
“We are not deterred by all these noises. We are actually targeting to be the largest fertilizer in the world and that’s a big celebration for Nigeria.
“We will support our government to make sure that we keep creating and generating jobs. We are generating jobs every day.
“That’s why sometimes, I laugh when NUPENG said there will be loses of jobs. Gentlemen of the Press, our company do not only buy 4,000 CNG trucks. We brought 10,000- four thousand tankers and six thousand dry cargo.’ He said.