Established in 1979 to drive Nigeria’s steel production and boost industrial development, the Ajaokuta Steel Company has remained largely inactive, failing to produce steel decades after its conception.
Instead of focusing on its core mandate, recent records show the company has awarded contracts for projects unrelated to steel manufacturing, including solar street lighting installations and empowerment programmes across the country.
The plant’s prolonged dormancy has also drawn political scrutiny. In February, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, walked out of a Senate committee meeting after a dispute over questions she raised regarding the state of the moribund steel plant.
Earlier in January, it was reported that the Nigerian government proposed to spend ₦6.04 billion on personnel costs for workers of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited in the 2026 budget, despite the fact that the plant has not produced steel in decades.
While the company continues to struggle with its primary responsibility of steel production, financial records indicate that it has recently awarded several contracts for solar power installations and other projects outside its core mandate.
On September 11, 2025, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited awarded Amarchy Pen Projects Ltd a contract worth ₦87.1 million for the “rehabilitation of road, supply and installation of solar street lights in Obalende, Okofaji, Olowogbowo and Isale Eko area of Lagos.”
On December 21, 2025, the company paid Blue Element Limited the sum of ₦87.401 million for the “provision and installation of all-in-one solar street light with high breed lumen and 80 watts led lights for Shiroro, Gurara and Bosso in Niger East senatorial district, Niger state.”
Also on December 21, 2025, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited paid Price Energy Limited ₦174.788 million for the “provision and installation of all – in – one solar street light with high breed lumen and 80 watts led light in some selected communities and farm settlements in Niger East senatorial district.”
In total in 2025, it spent N348 million on Solar power related contracts at different locations.
In another payment, dated August 23, 2025, the company paid Eburu World Link Limited ₦26.162 million for “capacity building training and empowerment for youths and women on how to make soaps, liquid disinfectant/antiseptic and room fresheners across Kwara North senatorial district, Kwara state.”
The contracts, which cover solar lighting projects and empowerment training programmes across several states, have raised questions about why the steel company is involved in projects unrelated to its original mandate of steel production.
More than four decades after its establishment, the Ajaokuta Steel Company remains one of Nigeria’s most prominent yet unfulfilled industrial projects, even as public funds continue to be allocated to maintain the facility and its workforce.
