The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD) has refuted allegations by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) claiming that a government-owned gold refinery was sited in Lagos in violation of the federal character principle.
In a response to the statement signed by NEF spokesperson Prof. Abubakar Jika Jiddere, the Ministry labeled the claims as “false and misleading,” clarifying that no such Federal Government-owned facility exists in Lagos or elsewhere in Nigeria.
The Ministry explained that the refinery in question is a 100% private-sector venture owned by Kian Smith, a domestic mining company.
This facility was established to bolster Nigeria’s local gold industry through private innovation and value addition.
Furthermore, the Ministry noted that Dr. Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, never claimed government ownership of the Lagos site; instead, he has consistently highlighted that several private investors are currently developing gold refineries across various regions of the country.
The Federal Government congratulated the Founder and Managing Director of Kian Smith, Ms. Nere Emiko, for her resilience and leadership in delivering what it described as a dream project after years of perseverance and enterprise.
In a statement issued by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister, Segun Tomori, the Ministry noted that the refinery is a direct outcome of the value-addition policy introduced by MSMD two years ago, which discourages the export of raw minerals and promotes local processing and manufacturing.
He said: “This policy has 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 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.
“We are shocked at the debilitating degeneration in the quality of leadership of the NEF, an organisation that used to act as a think-tank of serious discourse decades ago, which, by its recent utterances has become a parody of its pioneers.
“How could the NEF expect the Federal Government to force a private company to locate its operations in a particular area of the federation when each company has its operational and marketing strategy to ensure its profitability?”
According to the Ministry, its reforms over the past two years have focused on creating an enabling environment for private investment to thrive in the mining sector, with the Lagos gold refinery and other processing plants serving as evidence of the success of these policies.
He added: “How could the NEF fail to conduct basic due diligence and research before displaying such embarrassing ignorance while purporting to act on behalf of the North, a region that boasts of accomplished academics and professionals?
“This negligence could only have been the result of deliberate mischief, orchestration of mistrust and acceleration of irresponsible militancy.”
MSMD reaffirmed its commitment to encouraging more mining companies to establish processing and manufacturing facilities across Nigeria and called on NEF to support the efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in building a stronger, self-reliant economy for the benefit of all Nigerians.
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