Minister's Aide Denies Chinese Bias, Defends Mining License Revocation

Kehinde Bamigbetan, Special Adviser to Nigeria's Minister of Solid Minerals Development, has strongly refuted allegations that the federal government is unfairly prioritizing Chinese interests in the nation's mineral sector. Bamigbetan asserted that the revocation of Basin Mining Limited’s mining licenses was solely based on the company's failure to meet its statutory obligations.

Bamigbetan detailed that Basin Mining Limited's licenses were revoked after the company neglected to pay annual service fees, accumulating a debt of N1,223,750,000 in 2024. By the time of revocation, this outstanding liability had climbed to N2,494,000,000. He further alleged that a firm named Jupiter, described as a British-Australian entity, initiated international arbitration against the Nigerian government, claiming a violation of a bilateral treaty between Nigeria and the UK. Bamigbetan accused Jupiter of engaging propagandists, including Steve Kefas, to campaign against the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, in an attempt to reverse the license revocation.

Dismissing claims of bias towards Chinese investors, Bamigbetan highlighted that Minister Alake has only traveled to China twice on official assignments since taking office. He contrasted this with Alake's attendance at more mining investment conferences in Western countries, such as the London Mines and Money Conference, Mining Indaba in Cape Town, and Africa DownUnder in Australia. Bamigbetan emphasized that Nigeria's policy of opening its solid minerals sector to foreign investment predates the current administration, tracing its roots to the 1995 investment liberalization reforms.

He explained that the minister's Seven-Point Agenda aims to address gaps in the implementation of this policy, focusing on promoting local value addition and strengthening regulatory enforcement. Bamigbetan noted that numerous Chinese companies have established mineral processing factories in Nigeria as a response to this policy, while Basin Mining allegedly "sat on the opportunity until it expired." He concluded by stating that over 300 companies from Europe, America, Canada, and Australia are active in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, and the ministry continues to engage with Western investors through various international forums.