The minister of budget and national planning, Udo Udoma, Monday, said the Nigerian government has issued the first gold refining licence to improve the country’s economy. Udoma disclosed this while speaking at the 24th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES24) in Abuja.
“Today, I am happy to inform us that the first gold refining licence has been issued to a company called Kian Smith Limited, which was one of the companies that participated in the labs,” Udoma said. “As an outcome of the ERGP focus labs, we have also been able to accelerate the development of the national gold development policy and the establishment of a federal gold reserves scheme in Nigeria,” he added.
The minister further stated that the primary objective of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) was to get Nigeria out of recession. He, however, maintained that Nigeria has achieved her primary objective by issuing the first gold refining licence in Nigeria to Kian Smith Limited.
He said, “The federal government is finalising modalities to purchase gold from local refiners, via a federal gold reserves scheme.” The minister further said that a local automobile assembly plant is being supported to double it delivery in Nigeria, so as to drive economic growth in the country. The Guardian
Pix: Gold mining in Nigeria
