The Federal Government has pushed back against claims by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) that the siting of a gold refinery in Lagos violates the federal character principle, insisting that the project in question is not a government initiative.
The rebuttal came from the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister, Segun Tomori.
According to the ministry, the NEF’s position was based on a misinterpretation of recent remarks by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, on reforms in the sector and the planned inauguration of a gold refinery.
Tomori emphasised that the Federal Government neither owns nor established any gold refinery in Lagos or elsewhere in the country.
“At no point did the Minister state that the Federal Government owns or established a gold refinery in Lagos or in any other location,” he said.
He explained that Alake had merely highlighted ongoing private investments in gold refining across different parts of the country, all of which are owned and promoted by private sector operators.
The refinery referenced by the NEF, Tomori said, is a private project developed by Kian Smith, a wholly privately owned mining company aimed at boosting Nigeria’s local gold value chain.
He added that decisions on where private investors locate their businesses are beyond the control of the Federal Government, noting that such choices are determined by commercial viability, logistics and operational considerations.
The ministry cautioned against conflating private investments with government projects and urged stakeholders to avoid framing private sector decisions as federal policy actions.
It reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to promoting inclusive growth in the solid minerals sector nationwide by creating an enabling environment that supports investment across all regions.
Tomori also acknowledged the efforts of Kian Smith’s founder and Managing Director, Ms Nere Emiko, describing the refinery as a milestone achieved through years of perseverance, enterprise and leadership.
He said the project reflects the success of the government’s value-addition policy in the solid minerals sector, which is designed to curb the export of raw minerals and encourage local processing and manufacturing to deepen Nigeria’s industrial base.
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