The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made known its intention to give the Zamfara State Government N5 billion to supply them gold.
This was officially disclosed by Bello Muhammad Matawalle, the Zamfara State Governor.
According to Matawalle, his administration had established a gold reserve for the state.
“This strategic decision is part of the effort to prop up the economy of the state and guarantee the economic and social wellbeing of our people now and in the future. It is also the first of its kind by any state in the federation.
“For a start, we have purchased 31 kilogrammes of gold, wholly mined and refined by our artisanal miners. We will subsequently continue to buy gold from our local miners so as to gradually improve the reserve. The precious metal would be deposited in a bank.
“Even though our state like other states of the federation is grappling with competing demands from the public and the resources at our disposal are meagre, we feel it is of utmost significance to invest in the future of our people,” Mr Matawalle said.
The governor further explained that the recent collapse of the oil market had further shown the need to diversify Zamfara’s economy to safeguard it from the uncertainties of the market.
“The establishment of the gold reserve, therefore, is part of the relentless effort by my administration to diversify the state’s economy,” he said.