On Sunday, June 24, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, gave a symbolic gold bar to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Alake said this will help increase the value of the naira and improve the country’s foreign reserves.

He thanked President Tinubu for supporting changes in the solid minerals sector, explaining that the National Gold Purchase program will help boost the country’s reserves and strengthen the naira.

The gold, collected from small-scale miners and refined by the Solid Minerals Development Fund, now meets international standards.

Alake mentioned that the refined gold will be given to the Central Bank of Nigeria to improve foreign reserves.

During the event, Alake told President Tinubu that this was the first commercial deal in the National Gold Purchase Program, a system that allows the purchase of gold from small miners and cooperatives.

He said, 

“The successful completion of the first commercial transaction clearly demonstrates the National Gold Purchase Program’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 United States Dollars, such as gold, is a viable strategy. This transaction has also underscored the potential of the National Gold Purchase Program to enhance fiscal and monetary stability.”

He added that this first deal added over $5 million to Nigeria’s foreign reserves, refined more than 70 kilograms of gold to international standards, and put about NGN6 billion into the rural economy.

President Tinubu praised the Ministry for their work in helping the government’s goal of diversifying the economy by accepting and showcasing the symbolic gold bar.