Nigerian minister presents gold bar to Tinubu, says transaction will boost foreign reserves

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, on Sunday, announced that the first commercial transaction from Nigerian gold bars has resulted in a substantial increase of over $5 million in Nigeria’s foreign reserves assets.

Mr Alake disclosed this in a statement posted on his X handle on Sunday.

The minister explained that he recently presented the first batch of gold bars under the National Gold Purchase Program (NGPP) to President Bola Tinubu.

He explained that the programme aims to increase the country’s reserves and boost the value of the naira.

He noted that the gold bars were sourced from artisanal and small gold miners and refined by an agency of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development Fund while noting that it injected around N6 billion into the rural economy.

“I am pleased to report that the National Gold Purchase programme, which aims to increase our country’s reserves and boost the value of the naira, is making significant progress.

“Recently, I had the honour of presenting the latest gold bars to HE President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The bars were sourced from artisanal and small gold miners and refined by an agency of our Ministry, the Solid Minerals Development Fund. They have met the London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery Standard and will soon be sold to the Central Bank of Nigeria to strengthen our foreign reserves,” Mr Alake said.

According to him, this marks the first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Program (NGPP), a centralised off-take scheme supported by a decentralised aggregation and production network of artisanal and small-scale miners and cooperatives.

“Furthermore, I am proud to announce that this first commercial transaction has resulted in a substantial increase of over US$5 million in Nigeria’s foreign reserves assets, the refinement of over 70 kilograms of gold to the London Bullion Market Good Delivery Standard, and the successful aggregation of locally mined gold, injecting around NGN 6 billion into the rural economy,” he said.

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The gold bar

The gold purchase scheme began under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018.

The scheme, according to the then Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, included equipping the artisanal miners, provision of extension services and off-take of all gold produced by participants in the scheme.

The scheme was referred to as the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMDI), and some of its purchases would be sold to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The initiative aims to increase Nigeria’s reserves and boost the value of the naira against other currencies.

In 2020, the then Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, was at the State House in Abuja to present gold bars mined in the state to Mr Buhari.