Business
‘Nigerians Can Develop Solid Minerals Sector’
A Nigerian mining engineer based in South Africa, Mr Sulaiman Lawal, says Nigerians have the potentials to develop the solid minerals sector of the economy.
Lawal, a former staff of SASOL, a South African petro-chemical company, told newsmen recently in Johannesburg, South Africa, that the Federal Government must create a platform to support Nigerian entrepreneurs to develop the sector.
“ The challenge is we can do a lot of talking, but we must take steps and initiatives to support Nigerian entrepreneurs interested in developing solid minerals.
“ We must encourage the banks to support Nigerians that are interested in going into mining.
“ If the Nigerian Government is serious about developing the solid minerals sector or reactivating mining, we need to have a platform to drive it.
“ For instance, we can learn from the South African Government experience where their Industrial Development Corporation is providing financial support to entrepreneurs in the mining sector,“ he said.
Lawal, presently the Chief Executive of Bida Investment and Resources Management, said Nigeria could boost mining by replicating such initiatives ,’’ he said.
He said while Nigeria had enough solid minerals reserve, there was a dearth of funds for exploration to determine the quality and quantity of the resource in order to ascertain real value.
“ We need to look at our approach to the solid minerals sector. A lot of Nigerians have got prospecting rights but lack money to develop it.
“ There must be that partnership, encouraging Nigerians with the prospecting rights, partnering with investors with the money.
“ By investors, we do not necessarily mean foreign investors, there is money within Nigeria. We should encourage Nigerians with the money to put it into the mining sector,“ he said.
Lawal commended President Muhammadu Buhari for approving licences for 65 mini refineries to address fuel shortage in the country.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
