Nigeria House of Representatives has initiated a probe into the N1.12 trillion Anchor Borrowers Scheme, a flagship program of the Federal Government aimed at bolstering agricultural productivity through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This investigation extends to the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), the Bank of Industry (BoI), and other associated agencies.
Lens Africa TV gathered that the resolution was passed following the adoption of a motion by Chike Okafor (APC-Imo) on Tuesday, during a House session in Abuja.
While presenting his motion, Okafor drew a direct line between the escalating food scarcity and malnutrition plaguing Nigeria and the alleged mismanagement of funds earmarked for agricultural development. He highlighted that the Federal Government had invested N8 trillion over the past eight years in various agricultural schemes and interventions designed to ensure food security for millions of Nigerians.
“The mismanagement, misapplication of funds, and abuse of these programs have resulted in the dual challenges of food scarcity and malnutrition,” Okafor stated. He further alleged that funds allocated to end users of these interventions were diverted to non-agricultural purposes, exacerbating the food crisis.
The House has mandated several committees, including the Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, the Committee on Agricultural Production and Services, Agricultural Colleges and Institutions, and Finance, to conduct a thorough investigation into the CBN’s handling of the Anchor Borrowers Program (ABP). This program was intended to disburse N1.12 trillion to 4.67 million farmers engaged in maize, rice, and wheat farming through 563 anchor organizations.
Additionally, the probe will scrutinize NIRSAL’s distribution of N215,066,980,274.52 intended to support agriculture and agribusinesses. The House has given the committees a four-week deadline to report back with their findings.
The investigation will also assess the Bank of Industry’s (BoI) disbursement of N3 billion to 22,120 smallholder farmers under the Agriculture Value Chain Financing (AVCF) Programme, and the management of a N5 billion loan facility by the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) aimed at livestock farmers nationwide.
The probe is also expected to examine the National Agricultural Development N1.6 billion Recovery Fund, allocated to the Ginger Blight Epidemics Central Taskforce (GBECT) for controlling the blight disease in ginger, along with other agricultural interventions.
