Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has stated that Nigeria’s gold bars transaction has boosted the country’s foreign reserve assets by over $5 million.
He made the disclosure in a statement on his X handle.
The gold purchase scheme, referred to as the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMDI), began in 2018, and included equipping of artisanal miners, provision of extension services and off-take of all gold produced by participants in the scheme.
According to Alake, he recently presented the first batch of the gold bars under the programme to President Bola Tinubu.
He said the programme aims to increase the country’s reserves and boost the value of the naira against other currencies, adding that the gold bars were sourced from artisanal and small gold miners, and that the transaction added about N6 billion to the economy.
Speaking further, Alake said the bars of gold were the first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP) and that the bars met the London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery Standard and would be sold to the Central Bank soon.
