The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has called for the closure of all schools in Nigeria that charge tuition fees in foreign currencies.

Alake made this strong recommendation during the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration, held on the sidelines of the 10th edition of Nigeria’s Mining Week in Abuja, which was themed Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance.

The Minister heavily criticized the practice, describing it as a significant contributor to the leakages and loopholes within Nigeria’s economy that are actively threatening its growth and undermining the local currency.

Dr. Alake asserted his intention to propose the closure of such institutions to the Federal Executive Council, stating: “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.”

He emphasized that the severity of the issue is often underestimated: “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.”

The Minister highlighted the immense foreign currency drain caused by the practice, noting: “If you look at the foreign currency that goes into some of this, it is humongous.”

He detailed the negative impact of the practice on the Naira’s value, explaining that when parents pay in foreign currency for local services, they create artificial demand: “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.”

He continued that this action directly contributes to the depreciation of the local currency: “Driving the value of dollar up, whereas this school is in Abuja in Nigeria, you can’t go to UK, establish a school, and then be charging naira, it’s not done.”

Alake concluded his critique with frustration, saying: “It’s only in this country that I see so many contradictory things that really demolish the economy.”

In line with combating economic leakages, the Minister announced that the Federal Government is introducing various measures, including digital mechanisms, to ensure that all loopholes in Nigeria’s gold value chain are effectively blocked.

He explained that this move would reduce the need for interpersonal transactions, thereby lowering the propensity for corruption, which will ultimately position Nigeria’s gold as one of the global pillars of means of exchange of value.

The Minister confirmed that the Federal Government’s National Gold Purchase Programme, implemented through the Solid Minerals Development Fund, is specifically designed to shore up Nigeria’s foreign reserves and strengthen the Naira.

Alake clarified that the NGPP, a component of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative, allows the government to buy gold directly from artisanal miners using Naira, eliminating the need to spend foreign exchange for international gold purchases.

In her remarks at the event, the Executive Director of SMDF, Fatima Shinkafi, noted that, in contrast to global trends, gold exploration funding in Nigeria was on an upward trajectory.

Shinkafi emphasized that gold serves as a safe-haven asset within the broader macroeconomic context and encouraged conference participants to actively explore the opportunities within Nigeria’s gold sector.

She made a direct appeal to the attendees: “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.”

Looking to the future, Shinkafi stated: “In another year or so, let’s look at Nigeria’s Gold Day 2025 as a pivotal turning point.”

The Nigeria Mining Week, which ran from October 13 to 15, was organized by the Miners Association of Nigeria in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers and the VUKA Group.