Tinubu Offered Mining Deal in Bid to Meet Trump – US Firm Reveals
President Bola Tinubu’s administration allegedly offered a mining cooperation deal to the United States as part of efforts to secure a meeting between Tinubu and US President Donald Trump, according to a US-based political advisory and lobbying firm, Von-Batten-Montague-York.
The claim came after Nigeria and the United States signed an agreement to deepen American investment in Nigeria’s mining sector on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The agreement was signed at the Nigeria Mission House by Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the framework covers geological data and exploration, mineral development and processing, infrastructure and technical capacity.
Reacting to the development in a post on X, Von-Batten-Montague-York said the agreement represented the beginning of cooperation between Nigeria and the US over critical minerals and claimed that the deal was among proposals allegedly put forward by Tinubu in an effort to secure a meeting with Trump.
“The signing of the U.S.-Nigeria mining MOU is the first step of cooperation between the United States and Nigeria that serves America’s interests in having access to critical metals and minerals while improving the Nigerian mining industry,” the firm said.
“This MOU was first announced by the Nigerian government last week and was meant to be signed at the UN with President Bola Tinubu @OfficialABAT. It was one of the proposals that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu had allegedly offered in exchange for a meeting with President @realDonaldTrump.”
The firm further claimed that it contacted the Trump administration after the proposed arrangement became public.
“We immediately reached out to the #Trump Administration, which resulted in the article being immediately taken down, the signing at the UN being canceled, and President Tinubu staying in France,” it alleged.
“President Trump instead signed other agreements at the UN. The United States got the mines; President Tinubu got no meeting.”
The allegation comes against the backdrop of earlier reports and claims by the same firm concerning Tinubu’s planned participation in the UN General Assembly and an expected meeting with Trump. The firm had previously claimed that efforts to secure a meeting between both presidents had failed and questioned the circumstances surrounding Tinubu’s decision not to personally attend the gathering.
The Presidency had announced that Vice-President Kashim Shettima would represent Tinubu at the 81st UN General Assembly in New York. Shettima was expected to lead Nigeria’s delegation and participate in high-level meetings and bilateral engagements during the gathering.
Despite Tinubu’s absence, the Nigeria-US mining agreement was eventually signed in New York. Alake described the framework as an important step in strengthening cooperation between both countries around Nigeria’s mineral resources, which he put at about $700 billion.
“Nigeria cannot remain a source of raw materials while others capture most of the value. We want more local processing, quality jobs, stronger skills and greater opportunities for Nigerian businesses,” Alake said.
He added that the Federal Government would move from the framework to specific projects and investments.
“We will identify viable projects and build partnerships that create value for Nigerians and our US partners,” the minister said.
The agreement is intended to cover cooperation across the mineral value chain, including exploration, processing, infrastructure and technical capacity. US officials have also described Nigeria as an important regional power and said Washington was interested in strengthening its partnership with Abuja.
Landau said at the signing ceremony that the agreement was intended to signal closer relations between both countries.
“The signal we are sending is that the United States and Nigeria are partners,” he said, adding that both countries had undertaken significant areas of cooperation under Trump and Tinubu.
