Nigeria Moves To Boost Value Of Naira, Launches Gold Purchase Programme

By Ayodele Oni

In a bid to shore up Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and boost value of the Naira, the minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, has announced a National Gold Purchase programme.

The Minister, while presenting the new Gold initiative to President Bola Tinubu, stated that it has 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.

“Recently, I had the honor 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.

“This marks the first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP), which is a centralized offtake scheme supported by a decentralized 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 NGN6 billion into the rural economy.”