FG defends mining licence revocation, denies favouring Chinese investors

The Federal Government has defended its decision to revoke mining licenses from Basin Mining Limited, asserting that the action was solely due to the company's failure to meet its statutory obligations, not because of any preference for Chinese investors, as reported in recent media. Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, clarified in a statement that the revocation was carried out in accordance with Nigerian mining laws and had nothing to do with the nationality of the investors.

The revocation was a result of Basin Mining Limited's failure to pay an outstanding debt of approximately N2.494 billion, which had risen from N1.223 billion in 2024. Alake also dismissed allegations that he was favoring Chinese interests, stating that the claims were false and part of a campaign to discredit ongoing reforms in the mining sector.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.