By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
Minister of Steel Development Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu on Tuesday delivered a keynote address at the ongoing Nigeria–German Economic Forum in Dortmund, Germany, where he outlined Nigeria’s strategic vision for advancing its steel and minerals sector value chain and attracting long-term foreign direct investment in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Audu, according to a statement signed by Salamatu Jibaniya, Director, Information and Public Relations in the Ministry of Steel Development, stated that Nigeria is transitioning from a raw materials exporter to a value-adding industrial economy and is therefore seeking credible, long-term partners to support this transformation.
He highlighted that Nigeria’s strategic positioning in relation to its population of nearly 250 million people—characterised by a large and youthful workforce, noting that it positions the country as a regional hub for African trade.
He added that Nigeria possesses abundant reserves of steel inputs and energy-transition minerals.
He stressed that Nigeria has strong domestic demand for steel, with approximately $10 billion in annual utilisation, underscoring the scale of market opportunity.
According to him, Nigeria is seeking credible partners in steel and aluminium production and mineral beneficiation and processing, as well as industrial infrastructure development including power, rail, gas and ports.
He also stressed the importance of technical skills development and technology transfer to strengthen the nation’s workforce capacity.
The Minister disclosed that Nigeria possesses significant deposits of iron ore—estimated at over 3 billion tonnes—as well as substantial reserves of limestone, manganese, copper, lead-zinc, lithium and rare-earth minerals. He informed the gathering that these resources support both domestic industrialisation and export opportunities to Europe.
Minister Audu was received by the Minister for Federal, International and European Affairs, Mr Nathanael Liminski; the Lord Mayor of Dortmund, Mr Alexander Kalouti; the President of the Dortmund Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Heinz-Herbert Dustmann; and the Consul General to Slovakia, Mr Klaus Wagener.