National Assembly queries Steel Development Ministry over N2bn project, audit delay

The joint National Assembly Committee on Steel Development has raised concerns over the Ministry of Steel Development’s handling of a N2 billion project earmarked for a youth boot camp for training on welding and foundry but captured differently in the 2024 budget.

During a 2024 budget performance appraisal and 2025 budget defense session with the Minister of Steel Development, Mr. Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, Co-chairman of the committee, Hon. Zainab Gimba, questioned why the project was listed in the budget as “technical support for SMEs for training around foundry production in three geopolitical zones” but advertised as a youth boot camp training programme.

Audu had earlier informed the legislators that the training is scheduled to hold at the Metallurgical Training Centre in Onitsha for 700 youths, though 225, 000 people applied for it.

Hon. Gimba expressed dissatisfaction over the misrepresentation and urged the minister to rectify the discrepancy, stating, “Please we are asking you to do that now. Let me just clarify. Minister, as a rider to what you are saying, let me tell you Honourable Minister, before we came into this meeting, I spoke with the Permanent Secretary, I told him that this thing is not correct permanent secretary, let’s correct it because no human being is perfect. We cannot all be perfect.

“Maybe in the procedure there are things that are not done. We are not here in the National Assembly to wait for you to do mistakes and then we say you have done wrong. But it is in the procedure. If I want, I can keep quiet. After doing the whole thing, executing it, I can say you are wrong and then you cannot reverse it.

“I told him that this is not correctly done. He told me, I’m quoting him verbatim, ‘Honourable Chair, allow us to do our job. This is the way we want to do it. You can oversight us later.’ But I feel that I cannot leave the wrong thing to be done. We can still correct it. That’s why we are insisting that, Honourable Minister, you correct that.”

She also noted that it was improper for the ministry to hold onto the funds which ought to be for agencies under the ministry to carry out their activities including training which is the responsibility of the Metallurgical Training Centre.

“The agencies need the resources for their operations. We expect immediate action to return the money,” Gimba stated.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Steel Development, also cautioned that such inconsistencies could attract scrutiny from anti-graft agencies like the EFCC.

She said, “This is a public record. If anyone files a petition to EFCC, this could lead to accusations of misappropriation. You need to go back to the drawing board and correct this error before it spirals out of control.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan further advised the minister to address the improper advertisement and ensure that the project aligns with the budget to avoid legal repercussions.

The Committee also raised concerns over the Ministry of Steel Development’s delays in commencing the technical audit of the Ajaokuta Steel Company, which is crucial for rehabilitating the steel plant and the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) in Kogi State.

The minister had informed the lawmakers that the Federal Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the original builders, Messrs. Tyazhpromexport (TPE), and their consortium partners in September 2024, but the audit remains stalled.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan asked the minister to explain why the audit had not commenced nearly four months after the MoU was signed.

“We are approaching the end of January, and nothing has started. When will the technical audit begin so that rehabilitation can follow?” Akpoti-Uduaghan asked.

Responding, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Chris Osa-Isokpunwu, explained that the ministry was awaiting a “no objection” certificate from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) before presenting the project to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.

However, the committee retorted that the explanation was bot good enough. Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan fired at the minister, “The Federal Executive Council meets weekly. Are you guaranteeing Nigerians that this will be approved at the next meeting?”

In response, Audu, while admitting that the ministry’s followup on the approval has been at a slow pace, stated, “The feedback is clear—the process of securing the ‘no objection’ from BPP is too slow. I will ensure that we accelerate efforts to get this done by the end of January.”

Despite the delays, the minister assured the committee that the audit would begin in February, pending swift approval processes.

“The technical audit is critical for restarting operations at Ajaokuta Steel and NIOMCO. I am committed to expediting this process,” Audu said.

The committee eemphasised he importance of timely action, urging the ministry to meet its commitments to Nigerians and uphold transparency in its operations.

On the 2025 budget, Audu said the ministry requested for N315billion for its capital projects, but was allocated a total sum of N24.029billion. Out of that sum, N13.751billion is for personnel/recurrent expenditure, N1.953billion for overhead and N8.32billion is for capital expenditure. He appealed to the committee to put in more funds for the Ministry in order to enable it undertake its planned activities for the year.