The Federal Government has revealed that about five-billion-dollar worth of gold was smuggled out of Nigeria between 2012 and 2018.
This was made known by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, UCHECHUKWU OGAH, when he led a delegation of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative on a visit to the State House in Abuja.
Also speaking; the Executive Secretary of the Solid Mineral Development Fund, FATIMA UMARU SHINKAFI requested the President to increase funding for gold mining operations in order to the meet five-ton target next year.
Meanwhile; President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative to provide a six-month progress report on the Solid Minerals Development Fund.
This comes about a year after the Committee presented the first ever artisanal gold mined within Nigeria to the President.
President BUHARI gave the directive during a meeting with members of the Steering Committee and Management Team of PAGMI at the State House in Abuja.
The President charged the team to scale up operations in the mining sector by ensuring that investments go beyond artisanal and small scale levels.
President BUHARI also pledged his support for the Steering Committee’s production target of three-to-five tons of gold over the next twelve months, which he said would add value to the economy.