The Special Adviser to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, has rejected claims contained in a recent article published by the Telegraph, UK, on Nigeria’s mining sector and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
A rejoinder signed by him in Abuja to the Oct. 18 article by Gordon Rayner, says the report raised questions that were contradicted by facts concerning the mining dispute involving Jupiter and its Nigerian partners.
It explains that Basin Mining Limited and Range Mining Limited lost their mining licences after failing to pay required annual service fees, adding that Basin Mining alone owed N1.22 billion in outstanding fees.
According to him, the affected companies were notified several times to meet their obligations before the licences were revoked in line with Nigerian mining laws.
It states that penalties on the unpaid fees were also continuing to accumulate.
According to Bamigbetan government had provided an opportunity for affected companies to address genuine complaints, following the revocation of at least 1,663 mining licences in November 2023.
It stresses that the licence revocations were part of reforms introduced by the Minister of the Solid Mineral Development, Dr.Dele Alake to enforce compliance, improve transparency and clean up the mining sector, adding that the government had invested in the Electronic Mining Cadastre Plus, EMC+, to improve the licensing process.
The Special Adviser accuses Jupiter promoter, Steve Davis, of using international platforms to campaign against the Nigerian government instead of resolving the dispute through the appropriate legal and regulatory channels.
It adds that the campaign had included attempts to attract international attention to the issue, including during President Bola Tinubu’s official visit to the United Kingdom in March, when he alleged that false claims were made against Nigeria.
According to Bamigbetan the government had provided facts to counter the allegations, stressing that the dispute should be viewed within the context of Nigeria’s laws and regulatory requirements rather than through claims of political or diplomatic interference.
It therefore urges journalists reporting the matter to independently verify the claims of all parties before publication, stressing that responsible journalism requires facts to be established before giving prominence to allegations that could misrepresent Nigeria’s mining reforms and affect the country’s interests.
