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The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has called for the closure of schools in Nigeria that charge tuition fees in foreign currencies.
Speaking at the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration, held alongside the 10th edition of Nigeria’s Mining Week in Abuja on Wednesday, Alake described the practice as one of the economic loopholes undermining the country’s financial stability.
He said such actions contribute to the rising demand for foreign exchange and weaken the naira. “If your child attends a school in Abuja or Lagos and pays $10,000 or £10,000 in fees, you’ll need naira to buy dollars, thereby driving up its value,” he explained.
Alake argued that no other country allows institutions to charge fees in foreign currencies for services rendered locally, adding that this anomaly “demolishes the economy.”
The minister also highlighted ongoing government efforts to curb financial leakages in the solid minerals sector, including the introduction of digital tracking systems to ensure transparency in the gold value chain.
He noted that the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP), managed by the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), enables the government to buy gold directly from local miners in naira, helping to preserve foreign reserves and strengthen the currency.
SMDF Executive Director, Fatima Shinkafi, added that gold exploration investment in Nigeria is rising and urged investors to take advantage of the sector’s potential.
The Nigeria Mining Week, which runs from October 13 to 15, is jointly organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and the VUKA Group.
