Nigeria has strengthened its foreign reserves with $5 million from the first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP).

The minister of solid minerals, Dele Alake, disclosed this on Sunday in a post on his X handle.

Mr Alake said, “I am proud to announce that this first commercial transaction has resulted in a substantial increase of over US$5 million in Nigeria’s foreign reserves assets,” adding that “the bars were sourced from artisanal and small gold miners and refined by an agency of our Ministry, the Solid Minerals Development Fund.”

According to him, the National Gold Purchase Programme is a centralised offtake scheme supported by a decentralised aggregation and production network of artisanal and small-scale miners and cooperatives.

The minister also added that the first commercial trade has led to “the refinement of over 70 kilograms of gold to the London Bullion Market Good Delivery Standard, and the successful aggregation of locally mined gold, injecting around NGN6 billion into the rural economy.”

Mr Alake said the bars will soon be sold to the Central Bank of Nigeria to strengthen the nation’s foreign reserves.