The Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, has said the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu will complete the ailing Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State to create wealth and employment.
The minister said this at the 20th anniversary and annual conference of the Geoinformation Society of Nigeria in Jos, Plateau State on Wednesday.
The minister, who was represented by the Director General of the National Metallurgical Development Centre, Prof. Linus Asuquo, said, “Steel is everywhere in our lives for a reason. It is a great collaborator working with other materials to advance growth and development. With this in mind, the present administration piloted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is determined to complete the Ajaokuta Steel Company to Create wealth, and increase the employment of our people so as to become a manufacturing nation instead of being a consuming nation.”
Also, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, at the event called for support from GEOSON to enable the government to address the problem of insecurity and oil theft in the country.
The Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, said his government was eager to tap into the expertise of the GEOSON to train personnel and equip them with the skills necessary to harness the full potential of the geoinformation tool.
Represented by the Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Town Planning, Peter Nyam, the governor, said, “I propose that we establish a framework for knowledge exchange and capacity building. Our government is eager to tap into the expertise of the GEOSON to train our personnel and equip them with the skill necessary to harness the full potential of the Geoinformation tool.”
The National President GEOSON, Fitka Bilshakka, noted that the association had grown its membership to over 1,200 across the 36 states of the country.
He, however, noted that the challenge being faced was the inability of state governments to key into their programmes to achieve set objectives and benefits.
