By Anas Abbas
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has called for the closure of schools in Nigeria that charge tuition fees in foreign currencies, describing the practice as a major economic loophole undermining the value of the naira.
Alake made the call on Wednesday in Abuja during the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration, held on the sidelines of the 10th edition of the Nigeria Mining Week with the theme, “Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance.”
The minister expressed concern over what he termed “economic contradictions” in the country, arguing that allowing local institutions to charge fees in foreign currencies puts unnecessary pressure on the naira.
“I am still going to make a proposal to the Federal Executive Council that all those schools in Nigeria that are charging in foreign currencies should be closed,” Alake said.
“These are some of the leakages and loopholes in our economy that people don’t take seriously. If your child attends a school in Abuja or Lagos and pays $10,000 or £10,000, you’ll have to exchange naira for dollars, pushing up the value of the foreign currency. You can’t go to the UK and establish a school charging in naira it’s only in this country such contradictions exist.”
Alake said the Federal Government was intensifying efforts to plug financial leakages across the minerals sector through digital mechanisms and stricter oversight, particularly within the gold value chain.
He noted that the government’s National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP), implemented through the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), was designed to boost Nigeria’s foreign reserves and strengthen the naira by purchasing gold directly from artisanal miners in local currency.
The minister added that the initiative, a component of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative, would also reduce informal transactions and curb corruption in the sector.
In her remarks, the Executive Secretary of the SMDF, Fatima Shinkafi, said funding for gold exploration in Nigeria was on an upward trajectory, unlike global trends.She encouraged investors to take advantage of the country’s growing opportunities in gold mining.
“We implore everyone here to examine Nigeria’s gold resources and support the minister’s efforts to make Nigeria a premier destination for junior miners,” Shinkafi said.
“By next year’s Gold Day, we should be looking at Nigeria as a turning point in the global gold market.”
The Nigeria Mining Week, which runs from October 13 to 15, is organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria, in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the VUKA Group.