The Federal Government has dismissed claims by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) that it violated the principle of federal character by siting a gold refinery in Lagos, insisting that the facility in question is a wholly private-sector initiative and not a government-owned project.
The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, reacting to a statement credited to the NEF and signed by its spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, said the allegation was “entirely false” and based on a fundamental misrepresentation of facts surrounding the proposed refinery.
In a statement issued by Segun Tomori, Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, said, “There is no iota of truth in the allegation.
“The new gold refinery is the initiative of Kian Smith, a 100 per cent privately owned mining company which aims to facilitate the development of the local gold industry through innovative practices.”
The statement stressed that at no point did the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, announce the establishment or ownership of a gold refinery by the Federal Government in Lagos or any other part of the country.
“There was nowhere in the Minister of Solid Minerals announcement that the Federal Government owned or established a gold refinery in Lagos or anywhere for that matter,” the statement said, adding that Alake was “very clear, concise and emphatic” that the refinery was privately owned.
According to the statement, the minister also made it clear that additional gold refineries are being developed in other parts of the country and that all of them are private investments by different companies.
The Federal Government congratulated the founder and Managing Director of Kian Smith, Nere Emiko, describing the refinery as the outcome of “years of perseverance, enterprise and leadership.”
“The Federal Government congratulates the founder and Managing Director, Nere Emiko, for her doggedness in delivering a dream project after years of perseverance, enterprise and leadership,” the ministry said.
It explained that the refinery aligns with the value-addition policy introduced by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development two years ago, which discourages the export of raw minerals and promotes local processing and manufacturing.
“The refinery captures the response of the solid minerals sector to the policy of value addition enunciated by the ministry, which discourages the export of raw minerals and localises the processing and manufacturing of minerals,” the statement said.
The statement noted that the policy has already attracted significant investments across the country, including a $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State, a $400 million rare earth minerals plant also in Nasarawa, and a $200 million ASBA lithium plant in Abuja.
“This policy has stimulated the conversion of raw minerals export to processing factories across the country, generating a massive inflow of foreign capital and the provision of thousands of jobs to Nigerians,” it added.
The statement also took a swipe at the NEF, expressing shock at what it described as a decline in the quality of its interventions on national issues.
“We are shocked at the debilitating degeneration in the quality of leadership of the NEF, an organisation that used to act as a think-tank of serious discourse decades ago, which by its recent utterances has become a parody of its pioneers,” the statement said.
Questioning the logic of the NEF’s position, the ministry asked how the Federal Government could compel a private company to locate its operations in a particular part of the country.
“How could the NEF expect the Federal Government to force a private company to locate its operations in a particular area of the federation when each company has its operational and marketing strategy to ensure its profitability?” it said.
It maintained that its reforms over the past two years have focused on creating an enabling environment for private-sector investment in mining, describing the Lagos gold refinery and similar projects as proof of the effectiveness of those reforms.
“The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, through its policy reforms, has been creating the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and flourish in the mining sector in the last two years, and the Lagos gold refinery and others are eloquent testimonies to the efficacy of the solid minerals sector reforms,” it said.
It further accused the NEF of failing to conduct basic due diligence before issuing its statement, suggesting that the claims could only have been driven by mischief.