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ADNews-Monrovia,Liberia: A leaked document obtained by Afric Daily Newspaper reveals that several senior officials in President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration approved a controversial amendment to ArcelorMittal Liberia’s Mineral Development Agreement (MDA), a deal that threatens Liberia’s sovereignty and offers little prospect for economic growth.
Liberia could earn multiple billions annually from a combination of rail access fees, taxes, royalties and other revenue streams under a multi-user rail regime, which Liberia risks losing in Mittal’s third clandestine amendment.
According to the document, the signatories include the Finance and Development Planning Ministry, Acting Minister of Mines and Energy Eudora Blay Pritchard; National Investment Commission (NIC) Chairman Jeff B. Blibo; and Minister of Justice and Attorney General Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh, who attested to the agreement.
Justice Minister Tweh, in a statement, said he was abroad when the signing occurred and authorized his deputy to sign on his behalf. He added that he intends to personally review the Rail Standard Operating Procedures (RSOP), describing it as “the more contentious” portion of the amendment.
Finance Minister Ngafuan has not publicly commented, but accordingly, he did not sign; instead, someone from the Ministry proxy on his behalf due to the nature of the agreement.
The disclosure has intensified concerns over the opaque process leading to the signing of the amendment on Oct. 31, 2025. Sources close to the Inter-Ministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC) allege that the signing was carried out behind closed doors amid pressure from the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs.
Former Mines and Energy Minister Wilmot Paye reportedly refused to sign the agreement due to serious objections to several of its terms. He was dismissed shortly afterwards.
Deputy Minister for Administration Eudora Blay Pritchard later signed on behalf of the Ministry of Mines and Energy. She confirmed her signature in a phone interview with the Liberian Observer but declined to comment on the ministry’s involvement.
Ministry insiders said Pritchard had not taken part in the negotiations and was instructed at the last minute to represent the ministry. “She was never part of the negotiations,” one official said. “She was simply called at the last minute and told to come and sign.”
Liberian law mandates that negotiations for concession amendments be led by the NIC, which chairs the IMCC. However, multiple government officials claim the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs dominated much of the process.
Minister of State Sam Stevquoah, a former senior employee of ArcelorMittal Liberia, is widely believed to have played a key role in the negotiations. He has denied interfering, insisting earlier that the NIC “remained in charge” and characterizing the discussions as “an ongoing process.”
The long-standing ArcelorMittal agreement has enriched the company while leaving Liberia with little development to show, despite billions of dollars generated annually from the nation’s natural resources. The company’s push for a third amendment has drawn intense public backlash.
For the first time in years, ArcelorMittal has publicly backed the government with US$200 million in the national budget, an action many analysts view as an attempt to deflect public outrage over the controversial amendment.
The deal has not only deepened Liberia’s economic challenges but has also fueled strong opposition within Nimba County, the host region of the concession. Several Nimba lawmakers have called for the complete cancellation of the agreement, arguing that it undermines local development and national interests.
Most contentious of all is Mittal’s proposal to secure exclusive control of the Yekepa–Buchanan railway corridor, an arrangement that would prevent the Liberian government from earning billions of dollars in transit fees from other potential users.
The amendment, if upheld, would lock Liberia into economic dependency and strip the country of strategic leverage over one of its most valuable national assets.
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