The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has debunked claims by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) that the federal government established a gold refinery in Lagos in violation of the federal character principle.
Segun Tomori, the special assistant on media to the minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, in a statement on Sunday said the allegations contained in a statement signed by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) spokesperson, Abubakar Jiddere, were not true.
“There is no iota of truth in the allegation. The new gold refinery is the initiative of Kian Smith, a 100 per cent privately owned mining company which aims to facilitate the development of the local gold industry through innovative practices.
“There was nowhere in the minister of solid minerals announcement that the federal government owned or established a gold refinery in Lagos or anywhere for that matter,” Mr Tomori said.
He said Mr Alake was very clear, concise and emphatic in the announcement of the proposed commissioning of the refinery that other gold refineries are in the works across the country and all privately owned by different companies.
He said the federal government acknowledged the doggedness of the company’s founder and Managing Director, Nere Emiko, for delivering a flagship project after years of perseverance, enterprise and leadership.
According to him, the refinery reflects the solid minerals sector’s response to the value-addition policy introduced to discourage the export of raw minerals and to promote local processing and manufacturing.
Mr Tomori added that the policy had stimulated the conversion of raw minerals export to processing factories across the country, generating massive inflow of foreign capital and provision of thousands of jobs to Nigerians.
These, he said, include the $600 million lithium plant in Nasarawa state, the $400 million rare earth plant also in Nasarawa State and the $200 million ASBA lithium plant in Abuja.
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He further explained that the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, through its policy reforms, had been creating the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and flourish in the mining sector over the past two years.
He said the Lagos gold refinery and similar projects were clear evidence of the effectiveness of reforms in the solid minerals sector.
“The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development shall continue to encourage more mining companies to set up processing and manufacturing plants across the country.
“We urge NEF to turn a new leaf and join the efforts of President Bola Tinubu, to build a stronger, self-reliant economy that meets the needs of the Nigerian people,” he added.
