NEF slams gold refinery siting in Lagos, warns Northern leaders against silence

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has strongly criticised the Federal Government’s decision to site Nigeria’s national gold refinery in Lagos State, warning Northern political leaders and elites against what it described as a dangerous silence in the face of economic marginalisation.

In a statement dated January 21, 2026, and signed by its spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, the Forum said the decision to locate the refinery far from Nigeria’s major gold-producing areas in the North amounted to deliberate economic dispossession and a violation of constitutional principles.

According to NEF, the move strips Northern communities of value addition, skilled employment, and industrial development, while further concentrating economic advantages in Lagos and its environs.

“The decision to locate Nigeria’s gold refinery in Lagos while gold is mined from Northern soil is not a policy error or an oversight. It is a deliberate act of economic dispossession,” Jiddere said.

The Forum argued that the siting of the refinery reinforces an extractive economic model in which raw materials are sourced from the North, while processing, financing, branding and industrial infrastructure are located elsewhere. It warned that such a structure perpetuates poverty, unemployment and insecurity in resource-bearing communities.

NEF cited Sections 14(3) and 16(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which emphasise federal character, social justice and equality of opportunity, insisting that economic assets and industrial infrastructure should not be concentrated in a manner that marginalises any region.

The Forum accused successive governments of reducing Northern Nigeria to what it termed a “triple extraction zone” — supplying raw minerals, agricultural produce and cheap labour — while being denied agro-processing plants, refineries and industrial hubs.

It warned that the continued absence of value-adding industries in the North fuels youth unemployment, rural collapse and insecurity, including banditry and kidnapping.

NEF also criticised the silence of Northern governors, lawmakers, ministers and traditional leaders, cautioning that history would judge leaders who fail to defend the economic dignity of their people.

“Where are the Northern governors, senators and ministers who enjoy proximity to power but cannot defend the economic rights of their region?” the Forum asked.

In a separate open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council, NEF grounded its objections in constitutional provisions, including Section 162(2) on derivation, arguing that resource-origin principles should apply to solid minerals such as gold, not only crude oil.

The Forum noted that international best practice favours siting refining and processing facilities close to mining locations, citing countries such as Australia, Canada, Ghana, South Africa and Chile. It said such an approach enhances regulatory oversight, reduces smuggling, integrates artisanal miners into formal value chains and anchors regional industrialisation.

NEF described Nigeria’s decision to refine gold far from its source as economically regressive and inconsistent with the long-standing practice of siting oil refineries near crude-producing regions.

The Forum demanded that at least one primary gold refinery be located within Northern Nigeria’s gold-producing corridor, including states such as Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna and Katsina, while suggesting that Lagos could serve as a trading, certification or export hub if necessary.

The Forum urged the Federal Government to review the decision in the interest of constitutional fairness, economic balance and national cohesion, stressing that the North was not asking for favours but demanding equity guaranteed by law.

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