46-year Ajaokuta steel plant secures 20-year gas deal with NNPC

Nigeria’s long-dormant steel dream took a decisive step forward this week after Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited ASCL)p signed a landmark 20-year gas supply agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), an accord officials say finally clears the single biggest hurdle standing between the plant and full production.

The agreement was signed by Prof. Nasir Abdulsalam, Managing Director/CEO of ASCL, alongside NNPCL. It guarantees the steel complex an uninterrupted, long-term gas supply — something the plant has lacked since it was first conceived in 1979.

For 46 years, Ajaokuta has stood as one of Nigeria’s most costly unfulfilled promises. Successive governments poured billions of naira into the complex, and numerous committees were set up to chart a path to completion, yet the plant never moved past the threshold of production. Industry watchers have long pointed to one recurring problem: no reliable gas, no steel.

That obstacle, officials say, has now been removed. With feedstock secured for two full decades, stakeholders describe the deal as one of the most significant milestones in the plant’s history — and a concrete step toward finally activating what has long been dubbed Africa’s largest integrated steel complex.

A Boost for the Renewed Hope Agenda

The agreement is being framed as a direct win for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which centers on industrialization and economic diversification. Supporters note it also fulfils a campaign pledge Tinubu made in February 2023 to revive the plant.

Analysts and industry sources point to several expected benefits:

Job creation — thousands of direct and indirect jobs across construction, mining, logistics, and manufacturing.

Reduced steel imports — Nigeria currently spends heavily importing steel; local production from Ajaokuta could significantly cut that bill and conserve foreign exchange.

Manufacturing growth — industries ranging from automotive to construction to rail stand to benefit from cheaper, domestically produced steel.

Investor confidence — with long-term energy security now guaranteed, officials expect renewed interest from both local and foreign investors to help complete the plant’s outstanding phases.

“Investor confidence will skyrocket,” one analyst said. “This is the signal everyone has been waiting for.”

A Sleeping Giant Stirs

For millions of Nigerians who grew up hearing about Ajaokuta but never saw it produce a single sheet of steel, the deal carries weight beyond its technical terms.

“This agreement means Ajaokuta is finally on the threshold of production,” a senior industry source said. “It may soon begin fulfilling the role it was built for — to power Nigeria’s economic transformation.”

Whether the plant can now move swiftly from agreement to actual output remains to be seen, but for a project long treated as a national disappointment, the gas deal marks a rare moment of forward motion — one many are calling, simply, hope.