FG offers clarification on NEF claim on Lagos gold refinery

FG offers clarification on NEF claim on Lagos gold refinery

The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has denied claims by the Northern Elders Forum that the Federal Government violated the federal character principle by siting a gold refinery in Lagos.

The ministry made the clarification in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Segun Tomori.

The statement noted that the allegation misrepresented comments made by the Minister, Dr Dele Alake, regarding the planned inauguration of a gold refinery project and ongoing reforms in the solid minerals sector.

The ministry stressed that the Federal Government neither owns nor established a gold refinery in Lagos or anywhere else in the country.

“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.

“Dr Dele Alake was clear that other gold refineries are in the works across the country and that they are all privately owned by different companies,” Tomori said.

Tomori explained that the refinery referenced by the NEF is a private initiative by Kian Smith, a wholly privately owned mining company, set up to support the development of Nigeria’s local gold industry.

He added that the Federal Government does not direct private companies on where to locate their businesses, noting that such decisions are based on individual companies’ operational and commercial considerations.

The ministry urged the public to distinguish between government projects and private sector investments, reiterating its commitment to creating an enabling environment for solid minerals development across all parts of the country.

He said the Federal Government acknowledged the doggedness of the company’s founder and Managing Director, Ms 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.

MINISTRY OF SOLID MINERALS

PRESS RELEASE

NORTHERN ELDERS’ FORUM ALLEGATION ON LOCATION OF GOLD REFINERY IN LAGOS: THE PARADE OF IGNORANCE IN THE SERVICE OF MISCHIEF

The attention of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development
has been drawn to a statement credited to the Northern Elders Forum and signed by its spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere.

The statement alleged that the Federal Government sited a gold refinery in Lagos and on that basis, criticized the location of the refinery as a violation of the principle of federal character.

There is no iota of truth in the allegation. The new gold refinery is the initiative of Kian Smith, a 100 percent privately owned mining company which aims to facilitate the development of local gold industry through innovative practices.
There was no where in the Minister of Solid Minerals announcement that the federal government owned or established a gold refinery in Lagos or anywhere for that matter !
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele 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.

The Federal Government congratulates the founder and Managing Director, Nere Emiko for her doggedness in delivering a dream project after years of perseverance, enterprise and leadership.

The refinery captures the response of the solid minerals sector to the policy of Value Addition enunciated by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development two years ago which discourages the export of raw minerals and localizes the processing and manufacturing of minerals.

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?
The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, through its policy reforms has been creating the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and flourish in the mining sector in the last two years and the Lagos gold refinery and others are eloquent testimonies to the efficacy of the solid minerals sector reforms.
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.

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 Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR to build a stronger, self-reliant economy that meets the needs of the Nigerian people.

Segun Tomori
Special Assistant on Media to Minister of Solid Minerals

Dele Alake