Curious like me about AJAOKUTA STEEL COMPANY and all the conspiracies that had made it not to work? Read this article from a Researcher, Natasha Hadiza Akpoti.
I pray God helps us. If Ajaokuta works, thousand will be employed in the Company and other allied companies that would used its bye-products.
Time to break the deadly conspiracy surrounding #Ajaokuta Steel #Company Limited!!! 
    
I
 have been advised to use pseudo names in publishing this piece, but 
that’s not my nature. I am one who bolds up to situations and thus, I 
shall bear my name and consequences this report might stir.
From 
the 14th of August 2015, the day I had an interactive and empowerment 
session with the black smiths of #Ebiraland; the pains in their voices 
daunted me.  A people, whose ancestors carved a niche in ironworks way 
back as the 7th century suffered for want of materials to support their 
trade while a steel giant lay raped in their backyard by a series of 
unfortunate events and conspiracies. 
In October, I took online 
to issue a petition pleading with #President #Buhari to revive ASCL; and
 with your support we were able to get hundreds of signatures. Since 
that day, I left no stone unturned to discover the happenings so as to 
better understand the best path forward. I have taken time to make this 
report as brief and as simple as possible and urge you all to take time 
and read. 
1958 to 1979 
1958 - the colonial administration conducted a feasibility study on iron ore deposits in Nigeria.
1967
 – the #United #Nations #Industrial #Development #Organisation survey 
identified Nigeria as a    potential steel market which led to the 
signing of a bilateral agreement between Soviet Union and Nigeria.
1971 - the Nigerian Steel Development Authority was established by Decree No.9 to bring to reality a steel plant. 
1979
 – during the administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, TyazhPromExport 
(TPE) a #Russian leading engineering company commenced construction 
works on #Ajaokuta #Steel Company Limited.
1979 to 1994 
In less than 12 years, TPE transformed a wide expanse of land to contain
 some giant size network of machinery meant to process the exploration 
of steel for #Nigeria. Indeed, billions were spent and its evident in 
the state of the art townships , roads, bridges, power plants, air 
strip, port, rail that were put up in Itakpe and Ajaokuta in #Kogi 
state.
In 1990, as the project approached completion, TPE on 
monthly bases for 4 years wrote to the #Federal #Government reminders on
 the need to commence works on the necessary infrastructure needed to 
successfully operate ASCL and Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO).
 They are access roads to the mines and rail system from ASCL to Onne 
sea port in Port Harcourt. TPE also suggested the possibility of 
dredging river Niger which could offer a better and more convenient 
route of importing raw materials. This infrastructure TPE argued would 
benefit the public especially Northern part of Nigeria where finished 
steel manufactured products such as cars, parts, construction materials 
etc could be shipped to other states and nations once the state is fully
 functional as an industrial hub. The government never responded. 
THE INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACIES
A
 lot of people talk about the international conspiracies surrounding 
ASCL but very few know what actually they were or are. Here;
In 
1992, when the project was near completion and while the Russians (TPE) 
called on the government to work on needed infrastructure; powerful 
countries namely #France, #America, #Germany, Britain etc including the 
organizations like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) 
started reaching out to Nigerian government to terminate the project 
with the Russians. The Ohinoyi of Ebira land HRM Ado Ibrahim witnessed 
firsthand a plot by the IMF during a conference in NewYork where a team 
of Nigerian officials and foreign agents connived that ASCL should be 
completely dismantled and forgotten.  To them, Nigeria did not need to 
have a steel plant. Nigeria could as well buy steel from them if needed 
for its development.
Nigerian government listened to the 
negative solutions without ever considering the true intentions of the 
so called experts from these powerful foreign countries. Russia all 
through stood its ground alone against France, America and co and kept 
on reminding Nigeria of the need to ignore the adverse opinions. Russia 
told Nigeria that this conspiracy was cooked by the West to stop Nigeria
 from achieving the economic strength strong enough to uplift not only 
itself but the whole of Africa.  To them, Nigeria and Africa needed to 
be kept as a market for all junk goods from the West. This is in line 
with the colonial economic model brought in by the British and so, to 
have Nigeria turn around its economy and that of weaker nations hitherto
 being exploited by the super powers, and by implication, impact 
negatively on the extent of influence of the richer countries sent 
shivers at the smart future awaiting Nigeria.
Nigeria’s 
government was too busy focusing on ushering the 3rd Republic, June 12 
saga and all. No attention was given to the Russians. TPE was no longer 
being paid. In 1994 TPE left Nigeria.
SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
The Dept Buy Back 
Nigeria’s
 contract with TPE was to construct ASCL for five billion German 
Deutschmarks (DM) and such that the Nigerian steel authority gave TPE 
promissory notes guaranteeing payment to the company. When Nigerian 
government suspended payment and TPE left, TPE sold off these 
instruments to recover some of the debt owed to the company.
In 
October 1995, a series of secret debt buy-back transactions took place 
whereby the debt instruments were sold at inflated prices to Liberian 
companies purportedly owned by the Abachas -  Parnar Shipping 
Corporation and Mecosta Securities .This involved the withdrawal in 1996
 of $2.5 bn of public funds to settle debts owed to Russia for the 
construction of the Ajaokuta steel plant, but which in reality had been 
discounted to only $500m. Obasanjo in 1999 settled debt through OMPADEC .
http://www.un.org/en/africarenewal/subjindx/subpdfs/131nigr.pdf
SOLGAS -  the first Concessionaire 
In
 2003, Nigeria under president Obasanjo realized the need to complete 
Ajaokuta and so, SolGas, an American company which specialized in 
petroleum was given concession. For a year and a half, Solgas zero 
progress raised questions as to their technical capacity to operate 
ASCL. Even though they claimed Senator Liyel Imoke and Gbenga Obasanjo 
brought in Global Steel Holdings Limited/ ISPAT to short- change it from
 performing. To this end, Nigeria terminated contracts with Solgas. 
There were no minutes recorded to document deliberations engaging or 
terminating with Solgas. 
GLOBAL STEEL HOLDINGS LIMITED (INDIAN)  - the second Concessionaire
An
 Indian company first operating under the name ISPAT then changed its 
name to Global Infrastructure Holding Limited and now #Global Steel 
Holdings (GSH) were helped into Nigeria by Sen. Liyle Imoke and Gbenga 
#Obasanjo under President Obasanjo’s tenure in August 2004. The 
agreement was such that company would own 60 percent of the shares of 
the steel mill. The Federal Government would keep 30 percent while 10 
percent shares would be sold to the public. This company GSHL owned by 
Mr. Primod Mittal is not affiliated with ArcelorMittal, which the 
world’s renowned steel giant. #ArcelorMittal is owned by #Lakshmi 
#Mittal and a cousin to Mr. Primod Mittal. 
This concession which
 saw the taking over of ASCL and Itakpe is termed one of the biggest 
scams. The plant was hugely undervalued for $300m and GSH was to pay 
nothing to the government but inject its funds to revive the plant with a
 number of conditions some of which were:
- 1. That the Federal Government should give GSHL two oil blocks.
- 2. That GSHL be allowed to be lifting crude oil from Nigeria. 
- 3. That the Sapele Power Plant be given to GSHL to operate.
-  4. Concession of Delta and Warri Ports to GSHL to operate. 
-
 10. The supply of Natural Gas to GSHL at “competitive and reasonable 
tariff”.(GSHL came up with this condition after it failed to sign a Gas 
Supply Agreement with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company. GSHL 
offered to pay N5.00 per cubic meter of Gas as against the market price 
of N30.00). It also inserted in its conditions that “Gas price should be
 kept reasonable and consistent.
After all these conditions, ASCL
 still deteriorated as equipments of ASCL were moved to Delta steel 
(which GSHL took over in 2005) while some to other private owned Indian 
owned steel factories in Nigeria in the name of “borrowing”. 
The
 federal government under President Yaradua realized the huge mistake 
Nigeria once again made and sought to terminate the contract with GSHL. 
The then Director General of the BPE, Ms Bolanle Onagoruwa stressed that
 the approval of the concession of Ajaokuta by president Obasanjo was in
 violation of the BPE Act.
At Senator Ahmed Lawan led Adhoc 
Committee, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Mohammed 
Musa Sada also revealed that the federal government under Obasanjo 
single handedly sold ASCL to GSHL and that GSHL ruined the Ajaokuta 
complex by stripping it of all valuable equipment and machineries. It 
led to the cancellation of the entire process by the federal government.
 
This act didn’t go too well with GSHL and they dragged Nigeria 
to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in London, UK and 
demanded Nigeria pays them $1B for termination.  
In 2013, after 6
 years of heated negotiations at the ICC, the Jonathan’s administration 
successfully took back ASCL. GSHL also lost their $1B demand.
2013 TILL DATE – INDIANS  HOLD AJAOKUTA TO RANSOM
One
 would have assumed the drama over in 2013 but alas, the Federal 
Governments hands are tied on progressing with ASCL. GSHL shrewdly 
crafted an arbitration clause in the contract between the government and
 GSHL which prohibits Nigeria from dealing with anybody until all 
matters with GSHL are resolved. In other words, the Indians do not want 
Nigeerian government to proceed on completing Ajaokuta until an 
unreasonably selfish condition is met - they want the Nigerian 
government to give Itakpe Iron Ore company to them free for 25 years.
At
 the moment of this report, there is a modified contract containing such
 ridiculous terms before the minister of solid minerals in favour of the
 Indians.  GSHL wants to tap Iron Ore from Itakpe and move to Delta 
Steel which was in June 2015 taken over by Premium Steel, a company set 
up just months before the purchase of Delta Steel . Premium Steel is 
owned by another powerful Indian conglomerate headed by the #Vasuwani 
brothers (owners of the controversial Stallion group).
Truth is 
that Itakpe was set up as a captive mine to ASCL. The original plan 
holds that iron Ore would be moved from #Itakpe to ASCL which will in 
turn distribute to other smaller rolling mills, Delta Steel inclusive. 
If
 GSHL succeeds in its bid to take charge of Itakpe, ASCL will become a 
sad history as there will be no Ore to feed from. That means Kogi state 
will have no steel plant of its own ever again. So no matter that amount
 of pacifying information the government publishes for the public on the
 urgency and good intention they have towards ASCL, nothing shall be 
done until the arbitration is terminated.
Patriotic Nigerians 
must call on the Nigerian Government to immediately terminate every 
agreement in whatever form with GSHL. Nigeria is too big a nation to be 
held captive by an Indian company. TPE, a whole Russian government owned
 company who built the complex did not cause this much pain to Nigeria… 
why would a private Indian Company who has never operated any steel 
plant in its own country India do such a thing to us? A more worrisome 
question to answer is – Who’re the heavyweight Nigerians behind GSHL 
selling us this cheap? I don’t believe Mr. Primod Mittal would have the 
courage to stand alone and dare this much pandemonium; so who are the 
greedy Nigerians toiling with the present and future of Kogi state and 
Nigerians? No matter what, Nigerians must remember that the masses are 
always majority and the power to determine our future truly lies in our 
hands. Our silence and ignorance has only cost us this much.
RUSSIAN TyazhPromExport (TPE) IS BACK WITH HOPE FOR NIGERIA
The
 Sole Administrator of ASCL Egnr. Onobere has repeatedly said that since
 the Russians left in 1994, no progress has been realized on the 
project. The following questions kept hovering my mind : 
- the 
moment Nigeria realized their mistake in not completing ASCL and were 
ready to commence completion, why were the Russians not called back to 
resume works? Why did we settle for SolGas and GSHL in the first and 
second instances?
- From the quality of work evident in Ajaokuta, is there any doubt on the expertise of TPE that questioned their invitation?
- Could it be that TPE wasn’t invited because the Russians are too straight forward and don’t engage in “smart business”? 
My
 research led me to uncover a lot of conspiracies on how TPE is no 
longer interested in doing business with Nigeria and some even said TPE 
no longer exists. My curiosity took the better part of me and I decided 
to look them up the internet and initiate contacts. 
I sent an e-mail to TPE in mid November and another early December 2015, none were replied.  
It
 is said that desperate times require desperate measures and that when 
you truly want to do something, you shall find a way; so I contacted a 
dear friend of mine who lives in Russia and who happens to be the acting
 Chairman of Russia’s Arbitration Court on International Economic 
Matters – Mr. Tunde Adewon. As God would have it he is also a Nigerian; 
born to a father from Ondo State and a Russian mother. His father late 
Engr. Moses Adewon was one of the senior engineers who worked to build 
the Itakpe Iron Ore complex. 
Mr. Adewon on behalf of Builders 
Hub visited TPE in Moscow, Russia in the 2nd week in December 2015. 
After the first brief meeting, TPE, as precautionary measures ran a 
security check on me. Then Mr. Adewon was called for a detailed meeting 
and this was noted;
- TPE expressed deep sadness at the manner in which ASCL was handled.
-
 TPE said their heart was poured into the project in other to give 
Nigeria, the greatest country in Africa, the biggest steel Complex in 
Africa. 
- That never, in all of their works across the world, not even in India, did they build a steel city as big as Ajaokuta complex.
-
 That it was sad Nigeria did not heed to their warnings about the 
international conspiracies and Nigeria turned their back to them instead
 of seeing the bright future they dreamt for us. That we, by our own 
hands allowed our economy to be trampled amidst negative interests by 
other powerful countries.
- That over the past years, they had tried 
reaching out to the Nigerian government to allow them come back and 
complete the project. Nigeria did not respond positively. 
- That 
they would want nothing more than to work to revive Ajaokuta and help 
Nigeria create jobs for its people and take itself out of poverty. 
Nigeria, they said  must wake up from its slumber and be greater than 
ever before for itself and for Africa.
During a skype meeting, 
TPE was advised to write a letter of intent to the Minister of Solid 
Minerals. I also made it clear that neither I nor Mr. Adewon were 
interested in any monetary reward. We were only good citizens of Nigeria
 trying to use our best arsenals to contribute our quota in helping our 
country. They appreciated our honesty. 
On the 25th of December 
2015 (Christmas day), TPE wrote and sent the letter (which I have 
attached to this post) to the Minister of Solid Minerals Dr. Kayode 
Fayemi. TPE is expecting to be invited over to discuss a path forward 
which would first entail technical evaluation of ASCL to ascertain 
damage and recommend modernization and upgrade plans for completion. TPE
 said they are very ready to come to Nigeria even at a week’s notice.
On
 Monday the 18th January, I paid a courtesy visit to the Minister 
himself; Dr. #Fayemi acknowledged reading the letter from TPE and 
mentioned the Ministry would look into it. I pleaded with him on the 
need to expedite actions regarding ASCL and reminded him of the TPE’s 
intentions should be considered a priority.  
4 weeks after the letter was sent to the Ministry and no response from 
the Minister’s office, I visited the Department of Steel within the 
Ministry. To my shock, no one had seen or heard of the letter of intent.
 Question – what happened to the TPE’s letter after the Minister read 
it. Is it not supposed to be sent to the Steel and Legal departments for
 action?
Do you also know that till today, no committee has been set up to investigate into ASCL?  
KIND WORDS FOR HON. MINISTER DR. KAYODE FAYEMI
My
 dear Minister, sorry if I sound a bit hard. I don’t like it myself but 
like I told you in your office, I tour rural communities and interact 
everyday with the unemployed; the pains in their eyes are unbearable and
 that’s what I pour out right here… the pains of Nigerians and the huge 
expectations from your kind self and Mr. President.  You visited 
Ajaokuta on the 14th of December 2015 and promised an urgent action 
first by composing a think tank whose report would be submitted to the 
President; that’s 40 days ago!!! 
The Russians worked even on 
Christmas day to get the letter to you. When are you going to respond 
and extend an invitation to at least hear out their plans for ASCL and 
Nigeria? When would you constitute the fact finding committee? How long a
 time would the committee have to prepare its report? When would the 
President digest the report? When would decisions be made? Please note 
that Nigerians expect your efficient office to act quickly as we are 
fast drowning.  
Mr. Minister, I am aware you were misinformed 
that the Russians are not interested in the constructions works in ASCL,
 that’s not true sir. Please do not be trapped by misinterpretations. 
For that sake, I have decided to post TPE’s letter out to Nigerians to 
read. Also, my team met with the senior management of TPE in Russia 
today the 26th of January and they once again expressed their readiness 
to work with Nigeria on Ajaokuta and other projects if need be. 
Sir,
 do you know that TPE Russia constructed 3 of India’s largest steel 
plants namely - Bhilai, Bakaro and Visakhapatnam? Do you know that 
Bhilai is an eleven-time winner of the best integrated steel plant in 
India? They say the blast furnace technology in Ajaokuta is old, no sir.
 Do you know that India recently contracted TPE Russia to reconstruct 
and modernize Rourkela (originally built by Germans) and Durgapur steel 
plants? It shall interest you to know that TPE is installing the largest
 blast furnace in India as part of Rourkela upgrade. 
Sir, please
 join as we ask ourselves why India, with all its steel expertise keeps 
calling on TPE Russia? It’s because they are good and honest and that is
 what Nigeria needs now. GSHL was not invited by their government to 
work on their plants? Better still – has GSHL ever done any steel works 
in India? Was Nigeria supposed to be a guinea pig? Little wonder they 
can’t let go of Nigeria and are holding Ajaokuta hostage.  Sir, please 
see that the arbitration with GSHL is terminated as soon as possible. In
 the meantime, TPE is at this moment writing a comprehensive letter of 
intent to the president, your office shall be promptly copied sir. Thank
 you .
Today the 26th of January, I printed copies of the letter 
and again took a set to the Minister’s office and a set to the Director 
of Steel Engr. Also Abdullahi promised to follow up with the Minister. 
Dearest
 Nigerians and Kogites, it is said that you can’t make the same mistake 
twice, the second time you make it; it’s no longer a mistake but a 
choice I don’t know what a third mistake is called. We have watched our 
God given economic destiny being tossed twice by a few; we cannot sit 
back and watch it happen the third time around. It will be a big shame 
unto us.
Anger will do no good. We shall forgive everyone for 
every negligent decision made in the past. Sadly we have found ourselves
 in the most despicable of times; we should be courageous enough to seek
 to take the best path forward. Let us think deep quickly and ask 
ourselves – what do we have to lose or gain if the Russians come back to
 rescue Ajaokuta? 
Now that God has ushered us a new government 
in Kogi state, let us demand of our Governor and National Assembly 
members to make ASCL their watchword. Let our dear royal fathers HRM the
 Attah of Igala, the Ohinoyi Ebira land, the Obaro of Kabba and others 
keep interceding on behalf of ASCL. Let every Kogite realise that there 
is no better time than now to unite and seek that justice is done to 
ASCL. Let every state in Nigeria join forces to call on the federal 
Government to revive Ajaokuta because that single project coupled with 
Nigeria’s intellectualism can usher us into unprecedented greatness. We 
are too poor, our youths are jobless, our future is bleak, we cannot 
continue to suffer this much. The time to speak up and act is now!!!  
Truly yours
Natasha Hadiza Akpoti.
NOTE:
 This report took weeks of constant research with me meeting with the 
Minister of Solid Minerals Dr. Fayemi, Director of Steel Ahl. Also 
Abdullahi, Sole Administrator Engr Onobere, TPE Russia and so many 
others. No part of this excerpt expressly stated, though all true, was 
made by any of the above mentioned. 
The picture herewith 
attached was taken at TPE headquarters in Moscow, Russia with Builders 
Hub representative on international matters Tony Adevon (second right) 
and three top management officials of TPE.
" as copied"