President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said Monday in Lokoja that his Administration remains wholly committed to establishing a viable and functional steel industry in Nigeria.
Speaking at a meeting with Governor Ibrahim Idris and other state government officials, President Jonathan said that the Federal Government will do everything possible to make the Ajaokuta Steel Complex fully operational because the goals of Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020 will remain unattainable without a functional steel industry in the country.
“Our dream of Vision 20:2020 will be an illusion if we do not develop our steel sector. We are totally committed to the Ajaokuta Steel Project. It is not a project for Kogi alone. It is a project for all Nigerians which just happens to be in Kogi.
“We are inviting manufacturers to set up factories in Nigeria and we know that we must come up with appropriate economic policies, such as prioritizing the development of our steel sector, to create conditions that will encourage the expansion of the industrial base of our economy and the production of more goods in our country,” the President said while responding to a request by Governor Idris for more action by the Federal Government on the Ajaokuta Steel Complex.
President Jonathan said that his Administration will also continue to explore all viable options to boost employment in the country.
“We have an army of young people looking for jobs and we all have a duty to join hands to provide the jobs that will ensure that our youth are gainfully employed,” he said.
The President who was in Kogi State to commission projects and attend a campaign rally for the PDP candidate in upcoming governorship elections in the state, pledged that the federal government will work with the state government to “preserve the historical value of Lokoja”.
He commended Governor Idris for completing the Greater Lokoja Water Project which was among the three projects commissioned by him.
Others were the Lokoja–Ganaja Dual Carriage Way and a new Governor’s Office Complex.
President Jonathan later presented PDP flags to the party’s governorship candidate, Captain Idris Wada and his running mate, Architect Yomi Awoniyi.
He urged the large crowd at the rally to vote for the duo who will continue with the laudable policies of the current PDP Administration in Kogi, noting that they were very experienced and capable.