No solid mineral assets sold in US – Alake

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday denied reports that Nigeria had sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the United States, even as he inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in Solid Minerals in Abuja.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Alake said the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the United States was a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and local Nigerian operators, not an asset sale.

Insisting on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration is committed to reducing dependence on a single-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria-US partnership is a strategic initiative to attract investments, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian assets. There is nothing exchanging hands. We have created a platform to facilitate the merger of US investment ventures with local Nigerian players. It is in the public domain. We have signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers,” he said.

The minister said reports that the United States was about to seize Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were false at best and a figment of wayward imagination at worst.

Explaining the political push, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements that the world needs to transition to clean energy. So, we are creating a new paradigm. Bring your capital, your skills and your technology to match our natural resources and create a win-win situation. Investor gains, Nigeria profits,” he said.

Nigeria, he pointed out, had operated a monocultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally with minerals transported from deposits to port without value addition, saying the government had now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear route to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy had led to the emergence of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa recently commissioned in Nasarawa by the Vice President and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned thanks to President Bola Tinubu’s macroeconomic reforms that ensure security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to carry out its duties responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the president’s $1 trillion economic goal.

To this end, he asked the committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes that can position Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals sector.

US Embassy Economic Officer Jonathan Baas said President Donald Trump has prioritized energy, AI/super intelligence and critical minerals for US embassies.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to protect critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today to look at building AI data centers in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. This is the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.