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Solid Minerals Ministry says NEF claim misrepresents minister’s remarks on sector reforms
The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has rejected claims by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) that the Federal Government violated the federal character principle by siting a gold refinery in Lagos.
The Ministry described the allegation as misleading, saying it wrongly interpreted recent comments made by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, during an announcement on reforms in the solid minerals sector.
The clarification was contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori.
FG Says Refinery Is Not Government-Owned
According to the Ministry, the Federal Government neither owns nor established a gold refinery in Lagos or anywhere else in the country.
“At no point did the Minister state that the Federal Government owns or sited a gold refinery in Lagos,” Tomori said.
“He was explicit that the refinery recently announced is privately owned and that several other gold refineries, also privately developed, are at various stages of planning and construction across different parts of the country.”
The Ministry explained that the Lagos-based gold refinery was developed by Kian Smith, a wholly private mining company, as part of efforts to deepen value addition in Nigeria’s gold industry.
Private Investment, Not Government Allocation
Tomori stressed that the Federal Government does not dictate where private companies locate their investments, noting that such decisions are driven by business considerations, logistics, and market access.
He added that the government merely acknowledged the efforts of Nere Emiko, founder and Managing Director of Kian Smith, for successfully delivering what he described as a landmark private-sector project after years of commitment and perseverance.
According to the Ministry, the refinery aligns with the government’s value-addition policy, which aims to reduce the export of raw minerals and promote local processing, refining, and manufacturing.
Why the Clarification Matters
The Ministry said the response was necessary to clearly distinguish between government-owned projects and private-sector investments within Nigeria’s solid minerals industry.
It noted that reforms in the sector are designed to encourage private capital, boost domestic industrial capacity, create jobs, and attract foreign investment by shifting from raw mineral exports to in-country processing.
By correcting what it termed misinformation, the Ministry said it was important to help the public understand that recent developments in the sector are driven by policy-enabled private investment, not centralized government control or preferential siting.
Broader Sector Developments
The Federal Government had earlier announced the commencement of operations at a high-purity gold refining facility in Lagos, while also disclosing progress on three additional gold refineries at different stages of development across the country.
In addition, authorities confirmed that a $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State has been completed and is ready for commissioning.
The Ministry said these projects reflect growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s solid minerals reforms and the expanding focus on value addition across multiple regions.
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