Amid rising claims and counterclaims, the Federal Government has moved to set the record straight over reports of a federally owned gold refinery in Lagos.
The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development on Sunday dismissed allegations by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) that the government violated the federal character principle by siting a gold refinery in Lagos, describing the claim as false and misleading.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Mr Segun Tomori, Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, stressed that the minister never announced the establishment of a government-owned gold refinery in Lagos — or anywhere else.
“There was nowhere in the minister’s statement where he said the Federal Government owns or established a gold refinery in Lagos,” Tomori said, adding that multiple gold refineries are being developed across the country, all by private investors.
According to him, the Lagos refinery in question is a fully private initiative by Kian Smith, aimed at boosting local gold processing. He noted that the government does not dictate where private companies locate their operations, as business decisions are guided by strategy and profitability.
The ministry also praised Ms Nere Emiko, founder and Managing Director of Kian Smith, for delivering what it described as a flagship project after years of perseverance.
Tomori explained that the refinery aligns with the government’s value-addition policy, designed to end the export of raw minerals and encourage local processing — a shift that has already attracted billions of dollars in investments, including major lithium and rare-earth plants in Nasarawa and Abuja.
He said recent projects are proof that reforms in the solid minerals sector are working, creating jobs and attracting foreign capital.
The ministry urged the NEF to support the administration’s efforts to build a stronger, self-reliant economy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Bottom line: the Lagos gold refinery is private, not federal — and more are coming nationwide.
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