Federal Government Rebuts Northern Elders Over Lagos Gold Refinery Claims

The Federal Government has moved swiftly to douse a brewing controversy regarding the establishment of a gold refinery in Lagos, dismissing allegations that it is violating federal character principles. This rebuttal comes on the heels of a stern warning from the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), which had expressed concerns that such a facility would represent a lopsided distribution of national industrial projects. In a clear attempt to set the record straight, the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development clarified that the government is not the owner of the facility in question.

Segun Tomori, the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, issued a statement on Sunday describing the claims as entirely false and misleading. According to Tomori, there was never a moment where the minister suggested that the Federal Government was building or funding a refinery in Lagos or any other part of the country. He noted that the confusion likely stemmed from a misunderstanding of the government’s role in the sector, which has shifted from direct ownership to a regulatory and facilitatory one.

The facility at the heart of the debate is actually a wholly private venture by Kian Smith, a firm operating within the Nigerian solid minerals space. Tomori emphasized that the ministry lacks the legal or administrative authority to dictate where a private investor chooses to site their business. He argued that in a free-market economy, private entities make location decisions based on logistical efficiency, proximity to markets, and operational costs rather than political or regional considerations.

During the initial announcement regarding the inauguration of the refinery, Dr. Dele Alake had been explicit in stating that this was just one of several private refineries currently in development across the country. The government’s position is that it does not compel companies to establish operations in specific geographic zones. Instead, its focus remains on creating a conducive environment where various companies—domestic and international—can flourish and contribute to the national treasury through taxes and royalties.

This specific refinery aligns with a broader federal policy on value addition, which has been a cornerstone of the current administration’s economic strategy. For decades, Nigeria has suffered from the “resource curse” of exporting raw minerals at low prices only to import finished products at a premium. The government’s new policy seeks to end the export of raw ores, insisting instead on local processing, refining, and manufacturing to ensure that the maximum value of the mineral remains within Nigerian borders.

To counter the narrative of regional bias, the ministry highlighted a series of multi-million dollar projects that have been established across Northern Nigeria under the same policy framework. Tomori pointed to the $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State and a $400 million rare-earth minerals plant in the same region as evidence of a geographically diverse industrial surge. Additionally, he cited the $200 million ASBA lithium plant in Abuja as proof that the northern corridor is a major beneficiary of the recent mining reforms.

The ministry argued that these sustained policy shifts over the last two years have successfully created an “enabling environment” that is finally attracting the kind of capital necessary to transform the sector. The Lagos gold refinery, according to the government, is simply one piece of a much larger puzzle involving thousands of new jobs and billions in foreign direct investment. By encouraging private companies to build processing plants wherever they find it viable, the government believes it is fostering a more self-reliant and robust economy.

The tone of the rebuttal was also pointedly political, as the government urged the Northern Elders Forum to move away from divisive rhetoric. Tomori called on the group to “turn a new leaf” and support the administration’s efforts to build an economy that serves all Nigerians regardless of their state of origin. He suggested that focusing on the location of a private investment misses the larger picture of national economic growth and the collective benefit of a modernized mining industry.

As the solid minerals sector continues to evolve, the friction between regional interests and private-sector autonomy remains a challenge for policymakers. However, the Federal Government remains adamant that its hands-off approach to plant location is the only way to sustain investor confidence. For the Ministry of Solid Minerals, the priority is not where a refinery is built, but that it is built on Nigerian soil, using Nigerian labor, and adding value to Nigerian resources.