The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has presented gold bars to President Bola Tinubu, lauding him for supporting reforms in the sector.
According to Alake, the implementation of the National Gold Purchase Programme will contribute to improving the country’s reserve and strengthening the value of the naira.
The Solid Minerals Development Fund, an agency of the Ministry, has upgraded the gold from artisanal and small-scale miners to meet the London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery Standard.
Alake recently announced that the Central Bank of Nigeria will receive the refined gold to increase its foreign reserves.
During the event, Alake had highlighted the importance of the occasion, explaining that it represented the inaugural commercial deal within the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP).
The programme is a centralized system that enables the purchase of gold, backed by a decentralized network involving small-scale miners, cooperatives, and production units.
He said: “The successful completion of the first commercial transaction clearly demonstrates the National Gold Purchase Programme’s effectiveness.
“It has increased the nation’s foreign reserves assets and shown that using the Nigerian Naira to purchase a liquid asset traded in United States dollars, such as gold, is a viable strategy.
“This transaction has also underscored the potential of the National Gold Purchase Programme to enhance fiscal and monetary stability.”
Alake noted that the initial commercial transaction resulted in a +US$5 million boost in Nigeria’s foreign reserve assets, refined over 70 kilogrammes of gold to meet the London Bullion Market quality standard, and effectively aggregated locally mined gold, infusing approximately NGN6 billion into the rural economy.
President Tinubu expressed appreciation for the Ministry’s accomplishments in advancing the government’s goal of economic diversification by acknowledging and displaying a symbolic bar.
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