The BOI and NIRSAL are among other federal agencies that failed to honour invitation to the ongoing probe into the N1.12 trillion anchor borrowers funds
The House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has threatened to issue warrants of arrest on key federal agencies that failed to appear before it.
The arrest threat was issued on Tuesday during an investigative hearing into the anchor borrowers programme and other agricultural policies of the federal government.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. Chike Okafor (APC Imo), alongside other lawmakers, expressed disappointment over the absence of several key agencies invited to the hearing.
He warned that no leniency would be extended to those who flout the committee’s summons henceforth.
Among the agencies that failed to honor the invitation are the Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), National Agricultural Seed Council, and NIRSAL microfinance bank.
Okafor noted that only the Managing Director of the BOI communicated with the committee, requesting to be excused due to official travel. However, he emphasized that the other defaulting agencies must appear before the panel without fail.
He reiterated that the investigation is not a witch-hunt but a fact-finding mission aimed at uncovering the truth, identifying systemic failures, and ensuring accountability in the use of public funds earmarked for food security.
Okafor said the probe is keen to unravelling the following:
- How the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through the anchor borrowers programme disbursed about 1.12 trillion naira to 4.67 million farmers involved in either maize, rice or wheat farming through 563 anchors.
- How the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) disbursed ₦215,066,980,274.50 to facilitate agriculture and agrobusinesses.
- How the BOI disbursed ₦3 billion to 22,120 small holder farmers through the Agriculture Value Chain Financing (AVCF) programme; and how the bank funded 49 agro and food processing businesses with ₦59.4 billion in loans.
- A N5 billion loan facility to the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) for livestock farmers across the country.
- Updates on the National Agricultural Development Fund’s ₦1.6 billion recovery fund for the Ginger Blight Epidemics Central Task Force (GBECT) for the control of blight disease in ginger
Okafor reiterated that one of the key oversight mandates of the committee is to ensure proper implementation of intervention programmes by relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government related to food security and nutrition.
At the hearing, the CBN governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, who was represented by Mr. Kwasari John Harman, an acting director, disclosed that the CBN disbursed ₦1.21 trillion under the anchor borrowers programme, with ₦871 billion going to various beneficiaries.
The apex bank also revealed that commercial banks across the country received funds from the federal government under the programme initiated by the previous administration.
Recall that OrderPaper’s Legislative Compliance Index (LCI) recently reported how nine government agencies declined to respond to legislative summons by the House committee on legislative compliance.
According to the report, these agencies, which continued to play defiance, are the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Custom Service, Accountant General of the Federation and Federal Ministry of Education.
Others are Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited (NigComSat), Nigeria Immigration Service, Ministry of Trade and Investment, and the Head of Service of the Federation.
