The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake on Wednesday disclosed that the Federal Government was introducing various measures, including digital mechanisms, to ensure that all leakages in Nigeria’s gold value chain were blocked and every loophole sealed.
Alake made this disclosure at the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration on the sidelines of the 10th edition of Nigeria’s Mining Week, themed Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance, on Wednesday in Abuja.
The Nigeria Mining Week, holding from October 13 to 15, is organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers and the VUKA Group.
According to the minister, the move would reduce room for interpersonal transactions, thereby reducing the propensity of corruption, which would further position Nigeria’s gold as one of the global pillars of means of exchange of value.
While stating that the Federal Government’s National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP), implemented through the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), was designed to shore up Nigeria’s foreign reserves and strengthen the naira , the minister explained that the NGPP, a component of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative, allows the government to buy gold directly from artisanal miners in naira, rather than spending foreign exchange to purchase gold internationally.
The Executive Director of SMDF, Fatima Shinkafi, in her own remarks at the event, said that, unlike global trends, gold exploration funding in Nigeria was on an upward trajectory.
Shinkafi explained that, within the broader macroeconomic context, gold serves as a safe-haven asset and encouraged conference participants to explore Nigeria’s gold opportunities.
“We implore everyone here to examine Nigeria’s gold resources and support the minister’s efforts to make Nigeria a premier destination for junior miners.
“In another year or so, let’s look at Nigeria’s Gold Day 2025 as a pivotal turning point, “she said.
