By Godswill Michael
The Special Adviser to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan has dismissed suggestions that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair could have compromised British interests while advising Nigeria, insisting that Blair’s institute has no contract with the Federal Government to provide advice on mining.
Bamigbetan made the clarification in a rejoinder to a report by Gordon Rayner published in The Telegraph on October 18, 2026, which examined the dispute between the Nigerian government and British mining company Jupiter Lithium Ltd over the revocation of mining licences held by two Nigerian companies linked to the firm.
He faulted Rayner’s account, arguing that it failed to adequately consider the circumstances surrounding the revocation of the licences and the companies’ alleged failure to meet their statutory financial obligations.
“His first argument that Blair might have undermined British national security interests is contradicted by the disclosure that the TBI has no contract to advise the Federal Government of Nigeria,” Bamigbetan said.
The dispute centres on the revocation of mineral titles held by Basin Mining Limited and Range Mining Limited, which are associated with Jupiter Lithium’s lithium project in Kaduna State.
Jupiter has challenged the government’s actions, alleging that Nigerian authorities unlawfully deprived it of mining rights and interfered with its investment. The dispute has attracted international attention because of lithium’s strategic importance in the production of electric vehicle batteries and other technologies.
However, Bamigbetan maintained that the revocations were regulatory measures prompted by unpaid statutory fees, rather than an attempt to frustrate a legitimate British investment.
He said Basin Mining owed ₦1,223,750,000 in annual service fees and that the authorities revoked the affected licences after the company failed to comply with several notices issued by the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office.
According to him, the Federal Government has initiated legal proceedings to recover the outstanding amount, while penalties for non-payment continue to accumulate.
“Rather than rescue its partners by paying their fees and penalties or allow the international settlement court to determine its case, Jupiter has mounted an international self-help campaign of calumny and economic sabotage against the government and people of Nigeria,” he said.
Bamigbetan accused Jupiter of using the dispute to mount an international campaign against Nigeria, warning that the allegations could damage relations between Nigeria and Britain.
He also questioned the company’s decision to seek international support for its position rather than allow the legal process to determine the merits of its claims.
“The question Rayner should ask: if, indeed, Jupiter has a cast-iron case, why is it shedding crocodile tears and shopping for sympathy with false pretences and narratives?” he asked.
How the dispute started
The disagreement stems from a lithium and critical minerals project in southern Kaduna State, where Basin Mining and Range Mining hold mineral titles associated with the Jupiter project.
In September 2023, Jupiter announced an agreement to develop lithium resources covered by eight mineral titles held by the two companies in Kaura and Jema’a local government areas of Kaduna State.
The project subsequently attracted international commercial interest. In July 2024, Jupiter and US-based ReElement Technologies announced a joint development agreement aimed at commercialising the lithium deposits and establishing processing capacity.
The companies projected an initial production capacity of 55,000 metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate annually, with plans to increase output to 167,000 tonnes within two years.
The project was presented as an opportunity to develop Nigeria’s lithium resources and support local processing for the international battery market.
The dispute escalated after Nigerian authorities revoked the mineral titles held by Basin Mining and Range Mining.
Jupiter subsequently accused the government of unlawfully revoking the mining rights associated with its investment. The company also raised concerns about access to the mining sites and alleged that the authorities had failed to properly address applications for additional mining rights.
The Federal Government has rejected the allegations, maintaining that the revocations followed regulatory procedures and that the affected companies failed to pay their statutory annual service fees.
The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has also argued that Jupiter, as a foreign company, does not directly hold the mineral titles in question. Rather, the titles belong to Nigerian entities, including Basin Mining Limited.
The ministry has cited the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 in defending its position on the legal framework governing mineral titles and foreign participation in the sector.
The disagreement has since moved beyond the regulatory dispute, with Jupiter pursuing international arbitration against Nigeria.
Why Tony Blair was drawn into the dispute
Blair, who served as British prime minister from 1997 to 2007, became part of the controversy because of his institute’s work with the Nigerian government on economic transformation and public policy.
Rayner’s report questioned whether the institute’s advisory relationship with Nigeria raised potential concerns about a conflict between its work with the Nigerian government and Britain’s strategic interest in securing supplies of lithium.
The report highlighted lithium’s importance to Britain’s energy transition and industrial priorities, particularly the production of batteries for electric vehicles and portable electronic devices. It also raised questions about whether Blair or his institute had engaged Nigerian officials over the mining dispute.
Bamigbetan, however, argued that the report’s concerns about Blair’s possible role were undermined by the disclosure that the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) had no contract to advise the Federal Government on mining.
He also defended the licence revocations as part of Alake’s efforts to enforce compliance with Nigeria’s mining regulations.
Alake, who became Minister of Solid Minerals Development in August 2023, has pursued a stricter regulatory approach aimed at improving compliance and increasing government revenue from the mining sector.
According to Bamigbetan, the minister discovered substantial outstanding statutory fees despite investments in the Electronic Mining Cadastre Plus system, which digitised aspects of the country’s mineral licensing process.
He said the ministry notified companies that had failed to meet their financial obligations and published the names of defaulters in the Federal Government Gazette before revoking their licences.
The government’s position is that compliance with statutory obligations is essential to developing a credible mining industry and attracting responsible investment.
Jupiter, however, maintains that the revocation of the titles has adversely affected its investment. The competing claims leave the dispute centred on the legality of the revocations, the companies’ compliance with payment obligations and the protections available to investors under applicable legal arrangements.