CBN Purchases N268m Gold Bar To Boost External Reserves
The Governor of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has presented the dummy Cheque of 12.5kg London Bullion Market Association Gold to the Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari.
The virtual launch of the Gold Purchase under the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative took place on Thursday, before President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chambers, State House in Abuja.
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The CBN, in a tweet said it paid a total of N268.6m to purchase the gold bar, which now belongs to Nigeria’s external reserves.
Nigeria for the first time ever, in June 2020, artisanally-mined gold that was processed and refined according to the London Bullion Market Association standards required for the use of gold as a reserve instrument.
The launch is the culmination of 24 months of efforts between the Solid Minerals Development Fund, Kebbi and Osun States Government, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, and the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning under a Steering Committee led by the Chief of Staff to the President.
The Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative is a comprehensive artisanal and small-scale gold mining development programme, launched in 2019.
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The PAGMI was aimed at fostering the formalization and integration of artisanal gold mining activities into Nigeria’s legal, economic, and institutional framework.
PAGMI has been designed to result in the creation of over 500,000 new mining and formalized jobs, leading to poverty alleviation for more than one million households.
The initiative will also allow the apex bank to purchase locally produced gold in Naira to boost the nation’s foreign reserves.
