By Victoria Onehi
The Ministry of Steel Development and the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy have engaged in strategic discussions to promote the use of locally manufactured steel products in the construction of telecommunications towers across the country and other areas of mutual benefits.
This was a central point of the discussion during a courtesy visit by the Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, to his counterpart, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Abuja.
A statement by the Head Press and Public Relations, Salamatu Jibaniya, disclosed that the two Ministers also talked on exploring the establishment of a Technology Hub within the Ajaokuta Industrial Park and Free Trade Zone, currently awaiting approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Prince Audu said that the collaboration aligns with this administration’s drive to promote local content, strengthen the steel industry, and reduce reliance on imported materials, emphasising the capacity of local steel players in the country to provide effective services to the telecommunications sector.
Audu said: “In terms of where we see areas of collaboration, I have seen your initiative and plans to build 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables across the country at a total cost of 3.3 trillion naira and 7,000 telecom towers to be installed nationwide by end-2025. We know that there will be a lot of value addition to Nigerians.
“During my official visit to Ogun State recently, I commissioned a Galvanized Steel Plant. These Galvanised Steel Plants are anti-rust, and they have capacity to be used for Telecom towers. We want these local players to be patronised, so we will appreciate if they are incorporated into this very important project.
“On technical skills development, we had training for welders and artisans. We are hoping that you can expand your innovation and digital training skills programme to be able to include some of these specialised skills that we have in the steel industry because some of our guys have the skills to erect telecoms towers,”Audu stated.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, welcomed the collaboration between both ministries, describing it as long overdue and an enabler of President Tinubu’s vision for economic growth and job creation.
Dr Tijani said that beyond incorporating locally produced steel in the construction of the 7,000 telecom towers, the ministry is focused on ensuring long-term sustainability of the projects by involving local players for maintenance of the infrastructure.
“We will leverage this project to support the work you do. My goal is that for everything steel in this project, it should be 100 per cent locally sourced. What we need to do is to have a strong alignment, not just to the private sector but how we can develop critical sectors of the economy.” Tijani said.
Both ministers agreed on the formation of a joint technical committee to ensure seamless implementation of the strategies and ensure synergy between both sectors.
