President Bola Tinubu received a ceremonial gold bar from Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dele Alake on Sunday.
Alake believes this will strengthen the naira and boost foreign reserves. He commended Tinubu’s support for reforms in the solid minerals sector, emphasizing that the National Gold Purchase Program will bolster reserves and elevate the naira’s value.
The gold, obtained from small-scale miners and refined by the Solid Minerals Development Fund, now meets London Bullion Market Association standards.
Alake announced that the refined gold will be given to the Central Bank of Nigeria to increase foreign reserves.
Alake emphasized the significance of the event to Tinubu, noting it marked the first commercial deal under the National Gold Purchase Program. This program centralizes gold purchases through a network of miners and production units.
“This deal shows the success of the National Gold Purchase Program,” Alake stated. “It has boosted foreign reserves and demonstrated the value of buying gold with the naira instead of the US dollar. It also shows the program’s potential to stabilize fiscal and monetary policy.”
Alake revealed that the transaction added over US$5 million to foreign reserves, refined over 70 kilograms of gold to London standards, and injected approximately NGN6 billion into the rural economy.
Tinubu praised the ministry’s achievements in promoting economic diversification and accepted the symbolic gold bar as a testament to their progress.
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