President Bola Tinubu has commended the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development over the first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP).
The President said this when he received gold bars sourced from artisanal and small gold miners from Dr Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, on Sunday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the gold was refined by the Solid Minerals Development Fund, an agency of the Ministry.
The programme has delivered 5 million dollars into Nigeria’s foreign reserves and injected about ₦6 billion into the rural economy.
Tinubu said that the ministry had achieved a major milestone in the administration’s drive to diversify the economy.
“This is another concrete step towards the diversification process under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” the President said.
Alake, who presented a symbolic gold bar to Tinubu, said the NGPP would increase the country’s foreign reserves and boost the value of the Naira.
The minister also commended the President for supporting reforms in the solid minerals sector.
“The successful completion of the first commercial transaction clearly demonstrates the National Gold Purchase Programme’s effectiveness.
“It has increased the nation’s foreign reserves assets and shown that using the Nigerian Naira to purchase a liquid asset traded in dollars, such as gold, is a viable strategy.
“This transaction has also underscored the potential of the National Gold Purchase Programme to enhance fiscal and monetary stability.”
Alake said that the over 70 kilograms of gold sold to the London Bullion Market Good Delivery Standard marked a successful aggregation of locally mined gold.
In her presentation, the Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund, Hajiya Fatimah Shinkafi, said that the gold has met the global trade standard.
She said it met the London Bullion Market Good Delivery Standard which is the globally recognised and trusted standard in the global trade of gold and silver bars.
“Only gold and silver bars that meet our Good Delivery standards are acceptable in the settlement of a Loco London contract – where the bullion trade is physically held in London,” she said.
Shinkafi said, that through the NGPP, Nigeria had joined countries bolstering their gold reserves by purchasing gold in local currency.
She said this would foster economic confidence, enhance currency stability, and create a more attractive environment for foreign investment.