Mining: Ministerial Aide Dismisses Claims Of Pro-China Bias, Defends Licence Revocations

A special adviser on media to the minister of solid minerals development, Dr Dele Alake, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, has defended the minister against allegations that he is favouring Chinese investors in Nigeria’s mining sector, describing the claims as false, misleading and politically motivated.
In a statement on Sunday with the title: “The Puerile Penegrination of a Serial Blackmailer,” Bamigbetan accused social commentator Steve Kefas of spreading misinformation over the federal government’s mining reforms and the revocation of mining licences linked to Basin Mining Limited.
According to Bamigbetan, the revocation followed the company’s failure to pay statutory annual service fees amo...