Kehinde Bamigbetan, the media aide to Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dele Alake, has officially rejected claims suggesting that the minister is turning over Nigeria’s mineral wealth to Chinese entities. In a formal statement, Bamigbetan labeled the accusations as deceitful, attributing them to a coordinated smear campaign.
This response follows an article authored by Steve Kefas, which accused the government of giving away mineral resources to Chinese corporations. Bamigbetan clarified that the criticism stemmed from the government’s decision to revoke mining licenses held by Basin Mining Limited. This firm, a Nigerian affiliate of the British-Australian company Jupiter, lost its permits after failing to pay over N2.4 billion in mandatory annual service fees. Following the revocation, Jupiter initiated international arbitration and allegedly launched a public campaign to force a reversal of the government’s stance.
Addressing the perceived bias toward China, the aide pointed out that Minister Alake has actively engaged with investors from Europe, North America, and Australia. He noted that Alake has traveled to China only twice during his tenure, emphasizing that these trips were for official state business and a major mining forum. Furthermore, he highlighted the minister’s participation in investment events in London and Cape Town as evidence of a global outreach strategy.
Bamigbetan stressed that Nigeria has welcomed foreign participation in its mining sector since the 1990s under established investment frameworks. The current administration’s primary policy goal remains local value addition, requiring companies to process extracted resources within Nigeria. He noted that many Chinese firms are already complying with these requirements by building local processing plants.
Ultimately, the spokesperson stated that Nigeria continues to seek partnerships with investors from across the globe while maintaining over 300 active operations involving European, American, and Canadian firms. The government maintains that its current mining reforms are designed to ensure economic stability and enforce legal compliance for all international partners.
