Senate Committee on Solid Minerals has begun investigation into how the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo spent a World Bank loan of $120 million meant for the development of the solid minerals sector.

The committee was mandated by the whole House to probe how the loan advanced to Nigeria on December 14, 2004, was utilised.

Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes, Dahiru Awaisu Kuta, had blown the whistle last week during consideration of a motion on the status of a N231.4 billion Natural Resources Development Fund created by Obasanjo in 2004 but backdated to May 29, 1999.

Kuta informed the chamber that although government got the loan, there was no record of its utilisation for the purposes it was given.

On Tuesday, Chairman of the Solid Minerals Committee, George Thomson Sekibo, told reporters in Abuja that his committee has begun work on the matter during a meeting with the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dieziani Allison-Madueke, and officials of the ministry.

He said the Senate was particularly interested in knowing how much of the loan was actually spent and for what purpose.

"This committee would like to get certain information from you. Information including the scope of the loan, date of the actual release of the money, when it is going to expire, the agreement with the World Bank, the direct purpose of the money and the real beneficiaries of the money and any other information that will be useful to us," the chairman said.

Allison-Madueke admitted that the loan was received by government in 2005 out of which $55 million has been spent, with a remainder of $69 million.

"As at December 2008, $54 million had been expended out of the funds but the total commitment on the funds stood at $69 million as at today."