By Abah Adah
Federal government through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has denied claims by the Northern Elders Forum ,NEF, that it violated the principle of federal character by siting a gold refinery in Lagos.
This was contained in a statement signed by Mr Segun Tomori, the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, and made available to AljazirahNigeria in Abuja.
According to the ministry, the allegation misrepresents comments made by the Minister, Dr Dele Alake, regarding the inauguration of a gold refinery project and the broader reforms in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
The statement clarified that the refinery is a wholly private-sector initiative and not a federal government project, describing the allegation as entirely false and based on a misrepresentation of facts.
According to the statement, the proposed gold refinery is the initiative of Kian Smith, a 100% privately owned mining company established to promote the development of Nigeria’s local gold industry through innovative practices.
The statement stressed that at no time did the Minister of Solid Minerals Development. announced the establishment or ownership of any gold refinery by the federal government in Lagos or any other part of the country.
It added that the minister was clear that the refinery is privately owned, noting that more gold refineries are also being developed in other parts of Nigeria by private investors.
It congratulated the founder and managing director of Kian Smith, Mrs Nere Emiko, describing the project as the result of years of perseverance, enterprise, and leadership.
The statement explained that the refinery aligns with the federal government’s value-addition policy, which discourages the export of raw minerals and promotes local processing and manufacturing.
It noted that the policy has attracted major investments, including lithium and rare-earth processing plants in Nasarawa State and Abuja, generating foreign capital inflow and thousands of jobs for Nigerians.
It expressed concern over what it described as a decline in the quality of the group’s interventions on national issues, questioning how the federal government can compel a private company to locate its business in any particular part of the country, noting that such decisions are based on operational and marketing strategies.
The statement reaffirmed the government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for private-sector investment in the mining sector and called on the Northern Elders Forum to support national economic development efforts.
The clarification highlights the distinction between government-owned projects and private sector investments in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
The Ministry noted that the gold refinery reflects the sector’s response to the value-addition policy designed to discourage the export of raw minerals.
It said the policy encourages local processing and manufacturing, with the aim of strengthening domestic industrial capacity.
The reforms have reportedly stimulated the conversion of raw mineral exports into processing facilities across the country, attracting foreign capital and creating jobs.
By correcting what it described as misinformation, the Ministry said it was necessary to maintain public understanding of how policy reforms are driving private investment rather than centralised government control.
The Federal Government earlier said it had commenced operations at a high-purity gold refining plant in Lagos.
Aside from the Lagos refining plant, the federal government announced progress on three additional gold refineries at different stages of development across the country and a $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State that is ready for commissioning.
