MONROVIA – Nimba County Senator Nya Twayen has intensified his public criticism of ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML), accusing the multinational mining giant of violating the Mineral Development Agreement (MDA), engaging in financial manipulation, and neglecting its obligations to local communities in Nimba County.
In a strongly worded Facebook post published Friday, June 14, 2025, Senator Twayen declared that he was prepared for the backlash that would follow his campaign to hold ArcelorMittal accountable, describing the company’s tactics as “propaganda and personal attacks.”
“You know a company isn’t doing the right thing when instead of debunking your evidence-based facts against them with facts, they resort to propaganda and personal attacks,” the senator wrote. “I calculated the risks of going against a big multibillion-dollar company like Mittal for the sake of the people of Nimba. I knew there would be personal attacks, made-up stories, and blackmail. That’s why I’m not moved by this laziness you’re paying agents to do.”
Twayen’s latest remarks follow a series of actions and statements that have positioned him as one of the company’s fiercest critics within the Liberian Senate. On Thursday, June 12, the senator confirmed that the Senate plenary had endorsed his request for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide documentation related to AML’s operations, including its environmental permit and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.
“We are grateful to the Plenary of the Liberian Senate for endorsing our letter mandating the EPA to submit copies of the environmental permit issued to AML and environmental impact studies done,” he stated in a separate post. “The safety and health of our people living in the concession area are imperative.”
In his June 11 formal letter to the Senate, Twayen emphasized the need for greater transparency, asserting that the people of Nimba deserve to know the environmental and economic implications of the ongoing project.
The senator’s call for accountability comes just days after he publicly rebuked ArcelorMittal during the commissioning of its US$1.4 billion concentrator plant in Yekepa on June 5. “AML? You can dedicate another $1 billion plant, if the conditions laid down by the Nimba Caucus are not met, we will resist renewal,” he warned during the event.
In another Facebook post on June 6, Twayen accused the company of using transfer pricing to evade taxes and avoid declaring profits in Liberia. “Transfer pricing is a technique used by multinationals to shift profits. It involves a multinational selling itself goods and services at an artificially high price,” he explained, asserting that ArcelorMittal has exploited Liberia’s weak institutions for years. “Yor lea dey people they trying,” he added, implying that the company continues to manipulate the system with impunity. Twayen further accused AML of failing to meet the terms of its current agreement, despite decades of extracting iron ore from Nimba. “You failed at the current agreement and asking for a new one? No,” he said flatly.
The senator also painted a stark image of life in Yekepa, stating that the surroundings of AML’s billion-dollar facility remain “filthy” and the roads are “muddy,” in sharp contrast to the vast wealth being extracted from the region.
As the debate over ArcelorMittal’s future in Liberia intensifies, Senator Twayen has made clear that he will not be dissuaded. “Let’s do it. Nimba and Liberia will win in the end, trust me,” he concluded.
