Hauwa Gidado, Abuja
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has announced that Nigeria will begin holding part of its foreign reserves in gold, as part of efforts to strengthen the naira and boost the national economy.
Dr Alake announced this in Abuja during Nigeria Gold Day, organised by the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), at the closing ceremony of the 10th edition of the Nigeria Mining Week.
Explaining the initiative, the Minister said the Federal Government will purchase gold directly from local artisanal miners using the naira, rather than spending scarce foreign exchange to import gold.
“This initiative allows us to purchase gold from local artisanal miners using naira, instead of sourcing dollars to buy gold internationally. But you know what gold is? Gold is an international currency; you can convert it to anything, any currency,” he said.
“Once acquired, the gold goes straight into the Central Bank of Nigeria’s reserves. It’s one of the fastest and smartest ways to grow our foreign reserves. We are going to pursue it with vigour,” he added.
Dr Alake explained that by sourcing gold locally, Nigeria will avoid depleting its foreign exchange reserves while simultaneously boosting domestic liquidity.
“Miners and workers are paid in naira, which circulates within our economy,” he noted, describing the initiative as a “win-win” for the government, miners, and the broader economy.
He stressed that President Bola Tinubu’s administration recognises that real economic growth is driven by production rather than importation.
With locally sourced gold reserves, he said, Nigeria can strengthen its currency, create jobs, and build sustainable wealth.
“There’s no amount of economic calculation that will be faster in shoring up the value of the naira than this,” the Minister asserted.
Dr Alake also expressed confidence that future administrations will not reverse the ongoing reforms aimed at plugging loopholes and curbing leakages in the solid minerals sector.
In her remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund, Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi, cautioned against speculative mining practices, urging that the sector should be driven by data, science, and long-term strategies.
She attributed the growing global interest in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector to the Minister’s policy direction and the government’s commitment to responsible mining.
“The confidence investors are showing is a direct result of the Minister’s policy direction and the government’s commitment to responsible mining,” she said, commending Dr Alake for his transformational leadership in the sector.