Federal Government Denies NEF’s Claim On Lagos Gold Refinery

The Federal Government has dismissed claims by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), alleging a breach of the federal character principle in the siting of a gold refinery in Lagos State.

In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, described the NEF’s allegations as a misrepresentation of comments made by the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Dele Alake, on ongoing reforms and private investments in the solid minerals sector.

“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,” Tomori said. “Dr. Dele Alake was clear that other gold refineries are in the works across the country and that they are all privately owned by different companies.”

Tomori clarified that the refinery referenced by the NEF was a private initiative of Kian Smith, a wholly privately owned mining company, established to boost Nigeria’s local gold industry.

He emphasised that the Federal Government does not dictate the location of private businesses, noting that such decisions are driven by individual companies’ operational and commercial interests.

“The Federal Government neither owns nor established a gold refinery in Lagos or anywhere else in the country,” he reiterated, urging the public to differentiate between government projects and private sector investments.

According to him, the Ministry remains committed to fostering an enabling environment for solid minerals development across all regions of the country.

Tomori further commended the company’s founder and Managing Director, Ms. Nere Emiko, for what he described as her “doggedness in delivering a flagship project after years of perseverance, enterprise, and leadership.”

He added that the refinery stands as a testament to the success of the Federal Government’s value-addition policy, which seeks to discourage the export of raw minerals and promote local processing and manufacturing.