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By Henry Umoru, ABUJA

MOVES by the Senate to establish the Solid Minerals Development bank got a boost yesterday as a bill to that effect scaled second reading in the Senate.

A Bill for an Act to provide for the Establishment of the Solid Minerals Development Bank and for other related Matters therein, 2020( SB.720) is sponsored by Senator Oseni Yakubu, APC, Kogi Central.

In his presentation of the lead debate of the general principles of the bill, Senator Yakubu who noted that the bill was read the first time on Tuesday,  May 18, 2021,  explained that the bank was a development financial institution that sought to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development and boost the solid minerals sector.

He said, “It is also to boost the quality of life of the people by providing financial and non-financial investments in the sector.

“The bank is a financial inclusion bank whose major objective is for them to satisfy the funding needs of the solid minerals sector in this country.

“The principal mission of the bank is to increase financial inclusion by providing access to credit finance.

“The bank will also support medium to long-term lending, with a duration of up to 10 years and a moratorium of up to 18 months. 

“This would enable borrowers in the sector to have a longer period to repay the loans from the Solid Minerals Development Bank unlike the deposit money or commercial banks.”

He further noted that the enactment of the bill would be a perfect answer to the diversification drive of the Federal Government outside oil.

Supporting the bill, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun (APC-Ogun) said that until the sectors proposed for diversification were funded, “we will still be operating on a monolithic economy in the country.

“Until when we do the right thing, there is no way we will develop the mining sector.

“We need to fund the sector adequately. If we do not fund, we will not get the best of technology that can develop this sector.”

Amosun further said that setting up a bank that would support the mining sector would check the challenges bedevilling the sector.

Also contributing, Sen. Yusuf Yusuf (APC-Taraba) said “In the nature that we must diversify our economy, it has become apparent and absolutely necessary that we have a special bank that should and must finance solid mineral development in Nigeria.

“None of the commercial banks or at least very minimal that are in the process of financing solid mineral development in Nigeria.

“We need to develop the sector to its maximum potential and this is through a very solid and good position of funding.”

“Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege who presided over plenary thereafter referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Mines, Steel Development and Metallurgy and report in four weeks at plenary.