Zainab Ahmed: Capital market key to unlocking Nigeria’s mining potential

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, says the capital market is crucial to unlocking the potential of the Nigerian mining industry.

Ahmed said this on Thursday at a webinar organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in collaboration with the federal ministry of mines and steel development.

Speaking at the webinar themed, ‘Financing the Solid Minerals Sector through the Capital Market and the Critical Role of Commodity Exchanges’, the minister said the capital market was a credible platform for medium to long-term finance economic development.

Ahmed noted that the facilitation of funding and provision of structured market platforms such as the commodities exchanges portends significant addition for the mining and solid minerals sector.

“The mining sector is strategically based as an alternative source for revenue generation in the economic diversification plan of the federal government of Nigeria,” she said.

“It also has the potential to create employment and develop rural settings for other benefits.”

Ahmed said the nation’s capital market was a key catalyst for the development of the critical sectors of the economy.

She explained that the mineral export guidelines by the federal government were formulated to address the need to keep accurate mineral trade data.

She said it was also to ensure effective monitoring of the evacuation of export proceeds, optimise the collection of royalties, and facilitate free shipment inspection policies.

The finance minister said the initiative of employing the commodities exchange in this regard would encourage responsibility accounting and fairness to governance.

She further expressed the ministry’s support to ensure the overarching objectives of the federal government to develop the mineral potential.

“The reality is that the nation stands to benefit more in an organised mining and solid mineral extractive industry, and the capital market is here to contribute its quota,” Zainab added.

“This webinar is a signal that with the appropriate collaboration amongst sectors, institutions, regulators and operators, we can exceed our targets sooner rather than later, and Nigeria will reap huge benefits from such forums.”