The Kogi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), an opposition political party in Nigeria, has publicly backed Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan after she pressed for funding to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Company, a long-delayed industrial project in Kogi State, north-central Nigeria.
The chairman of the Kogi State Peoples Democratic Party, Muhammed Sanni Gambo, said the party stood firmly with Akpoti-Uduaghan following her comments at a budget defence session, where she urged increased support for the Ajaokuta Steel Company. The session reportedly ended in a heated exchange with Senator Patrick Ndubueze, a committee chairman in Nigeria’s Senate.
In a statement issued in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, on Friday, February 13, 2026, Gambo praised the senator’s performance and said her stance reflected the priorities of people in the state. He urged her to stay focused, warning against distractions he said were aimed at weakening her efforts.
Gambo told the senator, “You are our pride, we stand with you.” He added that her interest in the steel company was consistent with her past campaign message, saying, “The senator’s passion for Ajaokuta Steel is not new; it is a promise she made during her campaign,” Gambo said.
The dispute matters because Ajaokuta Steel has long been seen by many Nigerians as central to building a viable steel industry, which can support manufacturing, infrastructure, and jobs. The project has been discussed for decades, yet it has not produced a single sheet of steel more than four decades after it was conceived.
Okay News reports that the federal government of Nigeria, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, proposed spending Nigeria’s currency, the naira (₦), ₦6.04 billion (about $4.46 million) on personnel costs for workers of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited in the 2026 budget, despite the plant’s prolonged inactivity. Documents from the 2026 Appropriation Bill also show a total allocation of ₦6.69 billion (about $4.94 million) for the company, with personnel expenses accounting for about 90.4 percent of the total. The dollar conversions are based on a mid-market rate of about ₦1,354.76 to $1 on Friday, February 13, 2026.
