WHEN Ajaokuta Steel Company was envisioned as “the bedrock of Nigeria’s industrialisation,” hopes were high that it would catalyse its leap into the comity of developed nations. Conceived in the 1970s along with steel rolling mills in Jos, Aladja, Osogbo and Katsina, this was meant to galvanise Nigeria’s quest for an industrialised economy. Ajaokuta was also projected to supply steel to Nigeria and West Africa.
Instead, the steel complex and its host community today risk being disconnected from the national electricity grid over unpaid bills.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, in its just-released 2025 Annual Report, said the steel company and the host community failed to make any payment towards energy invoices and service charges issued by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator during the year.
The company received an energy invoice of N4.96 billion from NBET in 2025 but allegedly made no payment. It also reportedly failed to pay the N500 million service charge invoice issued by the Market Operator, bringing the total outstanding obligation to N5.46 billion.
NERC said the continued non-payment had become a matter of concern, prompting it to escalate the issue to relevant Federal Government ministries for intervention.
It warned that failure by Ajaokuta to settle its electricity obligations would put the complex at risk of being disconnected by its service providers.
Nearly five decades after the initiation, with about $8 billion spent, the Ajaokuta dream is far from actualised. This includes a $495 million arbitration payout in 2022 to settle a dispute with an Indian concessionaire. The same affects the Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company.
