The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has called for closure of schools in Nigeria that charge tuition fees in foreign currencies.
Alake made the statement on Wednesday in Abuja during the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration, held on the sidelines of the 10th edition of Nigeria’s Mining Week, themed ‘Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance.’
He described the practice of charging in foreign currencies as one of the loopholes affecting the country’s economy.
‘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.
‘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.
Alake explained that parents paying in dollars or pounds for schools within Nigeria were putting 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 dollar up, whereas this school is in Abuja in Nigeria, 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 said.
He added that the country must start changing its value system toward more productive and constructive activities that support national growth.
The minister also spoke about the government’s efforts to block leakages in the gold value chain through digital measures aimed at limiting corruption and boosting transparency.
According to him, the Federal Government’s National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP), implemented through the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), is part of these efforts. The programme allows the government to buy gold directly from local miners in naira, helping to strengthen the national currency and grow foreign reserves.
Alake explained that the initiative is a key part of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative (PAGMI), which aims to ensure Nigeria benefits more from its mineral resources.
In her remarks, Hajia Fatima Shinkafi, Executive Director of SMDF, noted that gold exploration funding in Nigeria was rising and encouraged investors to explore opportunities in the sector.
‘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.
In another year or so, let’s look at this Nigeria’s Gold Day 2025 as a pivotal turning point,’ she said.
The Nigeria Mining Week, which runs from October 13 to 15, is organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the VUKA Group.