The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, briefing newsmen in Abuja
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has called for the closure of schools in Nigeria that demand tuition fees in foreign currencies, labeling the practice as an economic anomaly contributing to the depreciation of the naira.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration, a side event of the 10th Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja, Alake didn’t mince words as he decried what he described as “economic leakages” facilitated by such institutions.
> “I will be proposing to the Federal Executive Council that any school operating in Nigeria and charging in dollars or pounds should be shut down,” Alake declared.
“These are the kinds of loopholes draining our economy that many people overlook.”
The minister emphasized that paying exorbitant tuition fees in foreign currencies for education within Nigeria fuels demand for dollars, thereby weakening the naira.
> “Imagine a parent whose child attends a school in Lagos or Abuja and pays $10,000 in tuition. That parent will need to convert naira to dollars – right here in Nigeria – pushing up demand and, in turn, the value of the dollar,” he explained.
“You can’t go to the UK and open a school that charges in naira. It simply isn’t done.”
Alake described such practices as part of the broader structural contradictions hurting Nigeria’s economy.
> “This is one of many absurdities we allow in this country that erode our economic foundation,” he added.
“We need to shift our national mindset toward productivity, sustainability, and value generation.”
On a more hopeful note, the minister revealed efforts by the federal government to tighten oversight in the mining sector, particularly gold. He noted the implementation of digital systems to plug financial leakages and reduce avenues for corruption.
One of the key strategies, according to Alake, is the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP) – an initiative allowing the government to buy gold from local artisanal miners using naira, rather than relying on international purchases that drain foreign reserves.
> “We want Nigerian gold to become a credible store of value globally,” Alake said.
Executive Director of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Hajia Fatima Shinkafi, also spoke at the event, emphasizing the upward momentum in Nigeria’s gold exploration funding – bucking global trends.
> “Let’s use Nigeria Gold Day 2025 as a benchmark and look back at this moment as a turning point for our mining industry,” Shinkafi said.
The Nigeria Mining Week, held from October 13 to 15, is organized by the Miners Association of Nigeria, in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the VUKA Group.
NAN
