Market News
Alake presents gold bars to Tinubu, says sector will boost Naira value - THE NATION
…says gold transaction adds $5m to foreign reserves
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has praised President Bola Tinubu for backing reforms in the solid minerals sector.
He assured that the National Gold Purchase Programme would enhance the country’s reserves and strengthen the value of the naira.
The minister’s assurance was contained in a statement issued by his special assistant on media, Segun Tomori.
During the presentation of the latest gold bar sourced from artisanal and small-scale gold miners, refined by an agency under the ministry called the Solid Minerals Development Fund, Alake highlighted that the refined gold would be sold to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to bolster foreign reserves.
Alake explained to President Tinubu the significance of the occasion, noting that it marked the inaugural commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Program (NGPP).
This programme features a centralized offtake scheme supported by a decentralized aggregation and production network involving artisanal 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.”
