Nigeria may soon become a hub for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing as China signals plans to set up factories in the country\u2014an initiative aimed at tapping into Nigeria\u2019s mineral wealth and reinforcing economic ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement came during a meeting between Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, HE Yu Dunhai, and Nigeria\u2019s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, held over the weekend in Abuja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ambassador Dunhai expressed China\u2019s interest in deepening its footprint in Nigeria\u2019s mining and industrial sectors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChinese companies are already deeply involved in Nigeria\u2019s mining sector, from exploration to processing. We aim to deepen this collaboration, especially in line with President Tinubu\u2019s eight priority areas, notably economic diversification through solid minerals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to him, the recent meeting between Presidents Bola Tinubu and Xi Jinping marked a new chapter in the countries\u2019 relationship, upgrading it to a comprehensive strategic partnership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dunhai praised Nigeria\u2019s rich natural resources and strategic importance to China, adding that Chinese firms are being encouraged to invest in full-cycle industrial operations\u2014including EV manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also addressed concerns about illegal mining, stating that the Chinese government maintains strict oversight. \u201cThe Chinese authorities have zero tolerance for illegal mining,\u201d he stressed, assuring Nigeria of cooperation in prosecuting any offenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding, Minister Alake welcomed the prospect of deeper collaboration but also addressed growing concerns over misconduct by a minority of Chinese operators. He referenced a viral video allegedly showing a Chinese national bribing security personnel, a case that has sparked public outcry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve taken action against illegal operators, including some Chinese nationals. While isolated, such incidents undermine the good work of many compliant Chinese firms. We need your cooperation in ensuring that such culprits are brought to justice,\u201d Alake said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He highlighted the recent deployment of Mining Marshals to tackle illegal mining, noting their positive impact on compliance and enforcement. The Minister also reiterated Nigeria\u2019s policy shift toward local value addition in the mining industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor years, our minerals have been exported raw to fuel foreign industrialization. That must change. We now prioritize local processing to drive Nigeria\u2019s development. For instance, with the abundance of lithium, we want to see local manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries,\u201d Alake stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He called on China to encourage its investors to move beyond raw extraction and commit to end-to-end production within Nigeria, pointing out the vast local market and the strategic advantage of reducing fossil fuel dependency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ambassador Dunhai responded affirmatively, citing China\u2019s broader push to support industrialization across Africa. \u201cOne of President Xi Jinping\u2019s key priorities is promoting African industrialization,\u201d he said. He confirmed that plans are underway to launch electric vehicle factories and other manufacturing ventures in Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With abundant lithium reserves and a growing push for clean energy, Nigeria could become a major player in the global EV supply chain\u2014if both countries follow through on their commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria may soon become a hub for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing as China signals plans to set up factories in the country\u2014an initiative aimed at tapping into Nigeria\u2019s mineral wealth and reinforcing economic ties. The announcement came during a meeting between Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, HE Yu Dunhai, and Nigeria\u2019s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, held over the weekend in Abuja. Ambassador Dunhai expressed China\u2019s interest in deepening its footprint in Nigeria\u2019s mining and industrial sectors. \u201cChinese companies are already deeply involved in Nigeria\u2019s mining sector, from exploration to processing. We aim to deepen this collaboration, especially in line with President Tinubu\u2019s eight priority areas, notably economic diversification through solid minerals,\u201d he said. According to him, the recent meeting between Presidents Bola Tinubu and Xi Jinping marked a new chapter in the countries\u2019 relationship, upgrading it to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Dunhai praised Nigeria\u2019s rich natural resources and strategic importance to China, adding that Chinese firms are being encouraged to invest in full-cycle industrial operations\u2014including EV manufacturing. He also addressed concerns about illegal mining, stating that the Chinese government maintains strict oversight. \u201cThe Chinese authorities have zero tolerance for illegal mining,\u201d he stressed, assuring Nigeria of cooperation in prosecuting any offenders. Responding, Minister Alake welcomed the prospect of deeper collaboration but also addressed growing concerns over misconduct by a minority of Chinese operators. He referenced a viral video allegedly showing a Chinese national bribing security personnel, a case that has sparked public outcry. \u201cWe\u2019ve taken action against illegal operators, including some Chinese nationals. While isolated, such incidents undermine the good work of many compliant Chinese firms. We need your cooperation in ensuring that such culprits are brought to justice,\u201d Alake said. He highlighted the recent deployment of Mining Marshals to tackle illegal mining, noting their positive impact on compliance and enforcement. The Minister also reiterated Nigeria\u2019s policy shift toward local value addition in the mining industry. \u201cFor years, our minerals have been exported raw to fuel foreign industrialization. That must change. We now prioritize local processing to drive Nigeria\u2019s development. For instance, with the abundance of lithium, we want to see local manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries,\u201d Alake stated. He called on China to encourage its investors to move beyond raw extraction and commit to end-to-end production within Nigeria, pointing out the vast local market and the strategic advantage of reducing fossil fuel dependency. Ambassador Dunhai responded affirmatively, citing China\u2019s broader push to support industrialization across Africa. \u201cOne of President Xi Jinping\u2019s key priorities is promoting African industrialization,\u201d he said. He confirmed that plans are underway to launch electric vehicle factories and other manufacturing ventures in Nigeria. With abundant lithium reserves and a growing push for clean energy, Nigeria could become a major player in the global EV supply chain\u2014if both countries follow through on their commitments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diplomacy-and-foreign-affairs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25306"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25308,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25306\/revisions\/25308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}