The Minister of State for Steel Development, Hon. Maigari Ahmadu has revealed that the Ministry intends to use scrap metal from abandoned vessels in Nigeria’s waterways to set up greenhouse farms to tackle food insecurity.
This was disclosed by the Minister during a live appearance on Channels TV program, while commenting on the recent national address by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He added that the plan will aid in the fight against national security issues such as banditry in the Northwest and various types of instability in the Southeast.
He said, “We have a wonderful project called the vessel to grain house initiative from vessels abandoned from all territorial waters across the country from Lagos to Bayelsa. We are partnering with four indigenous steel companies- we want to recover these vessels and turn them into greenhouses. What do we intend to do with them, to locate them around city centres to produce crops that can be grown under greenhouses to contribute towards food security.
“Especially in areas where we have issues- in the Southeast where we have issues with criminality and insurgency in the Northeast, banditry in the Northwest. That is a problem we are very confident will make a significant impact in the lives of the people with regards to food security.”
Contrary to popular belief, Ahmadu claimed that the Ajaokuta Steel Company is not inactive and is operating at a limited capacity. In the upcoming six months, the company will produce a sizable amount of goods.
Additionally, he noted that the Ministry intends to train 100,000 Nigerians at the Metallurgical Training Institute in Onitsha, Anambra state, in various facets of steel development and metallurgy.
He said, “We cannot look away from Ajaokuta, it belongs to us, and we should be hopeful. Ajaokuta is not moribund like it’s often put out there. This same government has engaged professionals like AfDB and UNIDO to look at it and they have sent their report back to the President. In the not distant future maybe a month or two, we should be able to see something.”
The Ajaokuta Steel Mill, a multi-billion-dollar integrated steel plant set up in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has faced Several administrative obstacles that hampered its operations.
