The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has accused the Federal Government of undermining constitutional equity and deepening structural inequality by situating what it described as the “National Gold Refinery” in Lagos State, despite the concentration of Nigeria’s gold deposits in the North.
However, the Federal Government has dismissed the allegation, insisting that the refinery is a private sector–driven initiative in which it has no equity stake, and not a federally owned project.
In an open letter dated January 18, 2026, and signed by its spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, the NEF accused the government of violating the principles of federal character, derivation and inclusive development through the decision.
The letter, addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and members of the Federal Executive Council, was titled “Open Letter to the Federal Government of Nigeria on the Location of the National Gold Refinery, Federal Character, Derivation and the Deepening Crisis of Structural Inequality.”
The controversy followed an announcement by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, during a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, ahead of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, that operations had commenced at a high-purity gold refining plant in Lagos.
Alake, in a statement by his media aide, Segun Tomori, also disclosed that three other gold refineries were at various stages of development nationwide, while a $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State was ready for commissioning.
But the NEF argued that the Lagos location must be interrogated beyond administrative convenience, noting that Nigeria’s commercially viable gold deposits are predominantly found in northern states such as Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna and Katsina.
Citing Sections 14(3), 16(1)(b) and 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the forum maintained that concentrating value addition and industrial infrastructure outside resource-bearing regions contradicts the principles of federal balance, social justice and derivation.
“To deny gold-producing regions the industrial and developmental benefits of refining is to hollow out the derivation principle and reduce it to a token accounting exercise,” the NEF said.
The forum described the decision as economically regressive and reminiscent of colonial-era extractive models, where raw materials are sourced from the periphery while wealth accumulates at the centre. It warned that continued concentration of strategic assets in Lagos deepens spatial inequality, fuels resentment and weakens trust in the federal system.
The NEF demanded a decentralised, resource-proximate refining framework, insisting that at least one primary gold refinery should be located within the North’s gold-producing corridor, with Lagos limited to trading, certification or export functions.
“This letter is not an appeal to sentiment. It is a constitutional warning,” the forum said, cautioning that sustained economic exclusion could have grave political and security consequences.
FG: Refinery Not Our Project
Reacting, the Federal Government rejected claims of regional bias, stressing that the gold refinery was neither initiated nor owned by the government.
Speaking to SOCIETYGIST, Segun Tomori said the project was developed by Kian Smith Company FZE, a private firm.
“The gold refinery is not a Federal Government initiative. We have zero equity in it. Our role is simply to provide an enabling environment for private investment,” he said.
Tomori added that the company initially began construction in Ogun State before relocating to Lagos in 2021 due to what it considered a more favourable business climate, completing the project in 2025.
He also listed several mining and processing facilities located in the North, including lithium factories and a multi-million-dollar iron ore processing plant in Kaduna, dismissing claims of deliberate industrial concentration in Lagos as unfair and misleading.
Northern Governors, Zamfara Kick
Meanwhile, the Northern States’ Governors Forum said it would meet to deliberate on the issue before taking a collective position.
Spokesman to the forum chairman and Gombe State Governor, Ismaila Uba Misilli, said the governors had yet to formally discuss the matter.
In Zamfara, the state government described the decision as unjust. The Commissioner for Information, Mahmud Muhammad Dantawasa, said no state was better suited to host a gold refinery than Zamfara, which sits on vast gold deposits.
Similarly, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Abdulrahman Tumbido, said Zamfara aligned fully with the NEF’s position, urging the Federal Government to review what he described as an unfair and suspicious decision.
As the debate intensifies, the gold refinery project has emerged as a fresh flashpoint in the broader conversation about resource control, economic justice and national cohesion in Nigeria.