The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has urged the Federal Government to shut down schools in Nigeria that charge tuition fees in foreign currencies.
He made this known during the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration held on the sidelines of the 10th edition of Nigeria’s Mining Week in Abuja, themed Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance.
Dr Alake described the practice as one of the leakages affecting Nigeria’s economy and weakening the naira.
“I am still going to make a proposal to the Federal Executive Council that all those schools in Nigeria that charge in foreign currencies should be closed.
“These are some of these leakages and loopholes that we say exist in our economy that people do not really take these things very seriously,” he said.
He explained that parents who pay school fees in foreign currencies contribute to the pressure on the naira.
“If your child is attending a school in Abuja or Lagos or somewhere in the country and is paying 10,000 pounds or 10,000 dollars as their fees, that means you will be looking for naira to go and buy dollars. Driving the value of the dollar up, whereas this school is in Abuja, Nigeria,” he said.
“You can’t go to the UK, establish a school and then be charging naira, it’s not done. It’s only in this country that I see so many contradictory things that really demolish the economy,” he added
Alake stressed the need for Nigerians to rethink their values and attitudes by focusing on meaningful and productive activities that can help the country grow and move forward.
Gold sector leakages
The minister also revealed that the Federal Government is introducing digital mechanisms to block leakages in Nigeria’s gold value chain.
According to him, these measures will reduce room for manual transactions, promote transparency, and strengthen the country’s gold trade position globally.
“The Federal Government is introducing various measures, including digital mechanisms, to ensure that all leakages in Nigeria’s gold value chain are blocked and every loophole sealed,” he said.
He added that the move would reduce the propensity of corruption and further position Nigeria’s gold as one of the global pillars of means of exchange of value.
Dr Alake explained that the government is implementing the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP) through the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) to boost foreign reserves and stabilise the naira.
He said the initiative, which is part of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative (PAGMI), enables the government to purchase gold directly from artisanal miners using naira instead of foreign exchange.
More insights
The Executive Director of the SMDF, Hajia Fatima Shinkafi, also noted that gold exploration funding in Nigeria is rising, unlike global trends where funding has slowed.
“Within the broader macroeconomic context, gold serves as a safe-haven asset, and we encourage conference participants to explore Nigeria’s gold opportunities,” she said.
Shinkafi encouraged participants to explore Nigeria’s gold resources and back the minister’s vision of making the country a top choice for new mining investors, saying the 2025 Gold Day could mark a major turning point for the sector.
