Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara state on Tuesday disclosed that the state government has secured an offer to supply N5billion worth of refined gold to its partners abroad.
A statement by the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Zailani Bappa, quoted Mr Matawalle as making the disclosure while addressing newsmen in Gusau, the state capital.
“Already, we have an offer of N5 billion from some interested partners to be supplying them with gold bars over a period of time,” Mr Matawalle disclosed.
Mr Matawalle noted that the state government has so far purchased about 31kilograms of refined gold from local miners in the state.
According to him, the move is meant to boost the financial base of the state.
“The Gold was wholly mined and refined by our local miners. It is a measure we are taking to ensure that the mineral resources in Zamfara State benefits the people,” he said.
Mr Matawalle, who stated that the state government would continue to save gold in designated banks, assured that the state would soon get the respect it deserves by having the security needed for any business transaction.
He said: “The situation today is that a few people mine the gold, take it abroad and trade it out there without a single benefit for the people in the state. This is what we want to change.”
