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By Stella Odueme
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 assets were sold under the bilateral cooperation agreement.
Alake made the clarification in Abuja while inaugurating the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector.
According to a statement by the Head of the Press and Public Relations Department, Mrs Kania Maliki Andeyaba, on Wednesday, he explained that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both countries was designed to facilitate business partnerships between American investors and Nigerian mining operators, rather than transfer ownership of the country's mineral resources.
The minister said the agreement followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the US during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There's nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.
He described reports suggesting that the US intended to take over Nigeria's mineral resources and security architecture as false, adding that the agreement was publicly signed and published in national newspapers.
According to him, the partnership aims to attract investment, encourage technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities as part of President Bola Tinubu's economic diversification agenda.
Alake said Nigeria was determined to move away from an economy heavily dependent on crude oil by harnessing its abundant solid mineral resources for industrial development.
He noted that the country had previously exported minerals with little or no local processing, a practice he said denied Nigeria the benefits of value addition.
The minister explained that the Federal Government had made local processing a key requirement for granting mineral titles to investors, leading to the establishment of processing facilities across the country.
He cited the recent commissioning of what was described as West Africa's largest lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State by Vice President Kashim Shettima as an example of the policy's impact.
Alake also attributed renewed investor confidence to the administration's macroeconomic reforms, which he said were designed to guarantee security of tenure and the repatriation of profits.
He urged members of the newly inaugurated committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the Nigeria-US cooperation framework into measurable outcomes.
He added that the committee's assignment was crucial 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 committee would translate growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilisation.
Also speaking, the Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said the administration of President Donald Trump had prioritised energy, artificial intelligence and critical minerals in its engagements with foreign partners.
Baas said the US was seeking to work with partner countries to secure critical mineral supply chains while ensuring that they benefited from the value created.
He disclosed that a contract had been signed on Tuesday to explore the development of artificial intelligence data centres in Nigeria.
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 bilateral cooperation framework.
The inauguration underscores the Federal Government's efforts to reposition the solid minerals sector as a driver of economic diversification, industrial growth and national development under the Renewed Hope Agenda.