Sale of $700bn Nigerian minerals to US did not happen, says Alake
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has rejected claims that Nigeria sold $700bn worth of solid minerals to the United States, saying the agreement between both countries was designed to attract investment, technology and expertise into the sector.
Alake said the partnership involved no transfer of ownership of Nigeria’s mineral resources, describing the agreement as a framework for connecting American investors with local operators to develop the country’s solid minerals industry.
The minister spoke in Abuja on Wednesday while inaugurating the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector.
According to a statement by the ministry’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Kania Maliki Andeyaba, the committee followed a strategic cooperation framework established between both countries during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake said.
He explained that the memorandum of understanding signed with the US government was intended to facilitate business-to-business partnerships rather than surrender Nigeria’s natural resources to foreign interests.
“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers,” the minister said.
Alake also dismissed suggestions that the agreement would allow the US to take control of Nigeria’s mineral resources or security architecture, insisting that the arrangement was based on mutually beneficial economic cooperation.
