FG exposes plot to embarrass Tinubu during state visit to UK

The Federal Government has raised the alarm over an alleged plot by a mining company, Jupiter Ltd, to orchestrate a “campaign of slander” against Nigeria during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s planned state visit to the United Kingdom.

According to the agency, the move aims to discredit ongoing reforms in the mining sector and ultimately misinform the international community about the circumstances surrounding the revocation of some mining licenses.

The Special Assistant on Media to the Minister for Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, announced this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

President Tinubu is scheduled to pay a state visit to the United Kingdom from 18 to 19 March 2026, at the invitation of King Charles III, who will host the Nigerian leader at Windsor Castle.

The visit is expected to mainly focus on strengthening diplomatic and economic ties, bordering on cooperation in trade, investment, security and migration between the two countries.

…FG on the alleged conspiracy

Responding to an alleged move to derail the visit through a smear campaign, the federal government has said the allegation that Nigeria seized a British lithium project under armed guard was unfounded, describing it as false and misleading.

The statement also said the government has no legal or contractual relationship with any company known as Jupiter Lithium, clarifying that Nigerian mining laws prohibit foreign companies from directly holding mining titles.

“It has come to the attention of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development that an ailing mining company, Jupiter Ltd, intends to orchestrate a campaign of slander against the Federal Government of Nigeria during President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to the United Kingdom.

“Earlier in the week, Special Adviser to the Minister for Solid Minerals Development, Kehinde Bamigbetan, wrote a response to what we described as a fabric of falsehoods sponsored by Jupiter Ltd in a publication titled “Nigeria seizes UK lithium project under armed guard”.

“Our response, titled ‘In Nigeria’s mining sector, the law does not respect people’, highlighted the activities of one Steve Davis and Hamish MacDonald, whose mining venture ultimately met the full brunt of the law,” the statement read.

The federal government said the dispute arose from the revocation of mining titles belonging to Basin Mining Ltd, a Nigerian company linked to an Australian citizen, Steve Davis.

He clarified that the revocation occurred following the company’s failure to comply with its financial obligations under Nigeria’s mining regulations.

“We have made it unequivocally clear that the allegations are baseless and baseless. The Federal Government, through the ministry and the Nigeria Mining Cadastral Office (NMCO) has no legal or contractual relationship with any company known as Jupiter Lithium as the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (NMMA 2007) expressly prohibits the granting of mining licenses to foreign companies.

“The reason for the dispute is the rigorous application of the rules regulating the mining sector, which made it necessary to revoke the mining titles belonging to a Nigerian company, Basin Mining Ltd, led by the aforementioned Davis, an Australian citizen. The revocation was carried out after the due warning was served on the company in line with the laws in force regarding non-payment of annual service fees.

“Therefore, the mining titles are hereby revoked due to non-payment of statutory annual service fees amounting to Two Billion, Four Hundred and Ninety-Four Million Naira (N2,494,000,000) for Mining Titles 45454ML, 45117ML, 45118ML, 40532ML and 40533ML for the fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

“Jupiter, although unknown to the mining authorities, spread falsehoods claiming that his securities had been revoked in favor of a Chinese company. This is a complete fabrication!

“Instead of adhering to Nigerian mining laws, Davis prefers to operate covertly as a mining speculator who creates companies to acquire mining titles and defraud the nation. Unfortunately for him and his ilk, the government’s strict enforcement of regulations has caught up with them.”

“Davis himself is a director of six such companies, namely Comet Minerals Ltd, Basin Mining Ltd, Range Mining Ltd, Northern Numero Ltd, Sunrise Minerals Ltd and Iron Ore Mining Ltd through which he held several licenses but chose to cry blue murder when the law caught up with one of his companies for failure to comply with statutory obligations.

“Such practices worsen Nigeria’s challenge to illegal mining, as speculators obtain licenses without undertaking actual mining operations, thus denying serious investors with real capital the opportunity to develop the sector.”

He said the nefarious activities of the past that hampered the growth of the mining sector will no longer be tolerated by the Tinubu administration.

“We therefore call on Nigerians and international communities to be wary of the impending display of shame by some discredited individuals who are bent on evading the Federal Government’s resolve to restore sanity and transparency in the mining sector.

“The federal government cannot and will not be intimidated or blackmailed into abandoning reforms by the antics of any individual or company. Our commitment to transforming the mining sector into a major contributor to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) is unwavering.

“Nigeria remains open to serious investors willing to operate within the framework of our laws and regulations,” the statement further added.