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From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has dismissed reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the United States, insisting that no Nigerian asset was sold or transferred.
Alake spoke in Abuja while inaugurating the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector.
He said the agreement between both countries was designed to attract investment, facilitate technology transfer and promote local mineral processing, not to hand over Nigeria’s mineral resources to foreign interests.
“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” the minister declared.
He explained that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Nigeria and the US provided a government-to-government framework for business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian mining operators.
“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,” he said.
Alake described reports that the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s mineral resources and security architecture as false, insisting that the partnership was aimed at ensuring mutual economic benefits.
The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between both countries during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The minister said the partnership aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, stressing that Nigeria could no longer afford to depend largely on crude oil while exporting mineral resources without adding value locally.
According to him, Africa has historically received limited benefits from global economic transactions involving its natural resources, a situation Nigeria is determined to change through investment in local industries and technology.
“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm: you bring your capital, expertise and technology to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation. The investor gains, Nigeria gains,” he said.
Alake disclosed that the Federal Government had made local processing a condition for granting mineral titles, adding that investors must demonstrate clear plans to process minerals within the country.
He said the policy had encouraged the establishment of processing factories, including what he described as West Africa’s largest lithium processing plant, recently commissioned in Nasarawa State by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The minister also linked the policy to the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group, which seeks to promote cooperation among African countries in developing their mineral resources.
He attributed renewed investor confidence in the sector to the macroeconomic reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, saying the measures provided assurances on security of tenure and repatriation of profits.
Alake charged members of the committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the bilateral framework into measurable outcomes.
He said the committee’s assignment was strategic to the Federal Government’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
In his welcome address, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration would translate growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilisation.
The Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump had prioritised energy, artificial intelligence and critical minerals in the activities of US embassies.
He said the United States was seeking partnerships that would strengthen critical mineral supply chains while ensuring that participating countries benefited from the value created.
“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” Baas said.
In his vote of thanks, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company said the committee would coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria-US cooperation framework.
The inauguration underscores the Federal Government’s efforts to reposition the solid minerals sector as a driver of economic diversification, industrial development and job creation.
