The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has dismissed claims by the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) alleging that the Federal Government violated the federal character principle by siting a gold refinery in Lagos, describing the assertion as false and misleading.

In a statement issued on Sunday, January 18, 2026, and signed by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, the Ministry clarified that the gold refinery referenced by NEF is not a Federal Government project but a wholly private investment.

The Ministry stated that the refinery is the initiative of Kian Smith, a 100 per cent privately owned mining company, stressing that the Federal Government neither owns nor established a gold refinery in Lagos or any other part of the country.

According to the statement, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, had earlier made it clear that the Lagos facility is one of several privately owned gold refineries being developed nationwide in line with ongoing reforms in the solid minerals sector.

The Ministry noted that other gold refineries are also in the pipeline across different regions of the country, all driven by private investors, and not by the Federal Government.

It explained that the Lagos refinery is in line with the Federal Government’s value-addition policy introduced two years ago, which discourages the export of raw minerals and promotes local processing and manufacturing to boost economic growth.

The policy, the Ministry said, has already attracted major investments into the sector, including a $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State, a $400 million rare-earth minerals plant also in Nasarawa, and a $200 million lithium plant in Abuja, creating thousands of jobs nationwide.

The Ministry also congratulated the founder and Managing Director of Kian Smith, Nere Emiko, for what it described as a landmark private-sector investment in Nigeria’s solid minerals industry.

Questioning the basis of the NEF’s claim, the Ministry stated that the Federal Government cannot compel a private company to locate its operations in a particular region, noting that such decisions are determined by business strategy, logistics, and market considerations.

The Ministry urged the Northern Elders’ Forum to verify its claims before making public statements and called on the group to support ongoing efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s economy through private-sector-led investment in the solid minerals sector.