The House of Representatives has announced an investigation into the alleged misappropriation of over ₦2 trillion disbursed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through its Anchor Borrowers Scheme during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
This decision follows the adoption of a motion sponsored by Representative Chike Okafor, who voiced concerns about escalating food scarcity and malnutrition in Nigeria, amid allegations of mismanagement of agricultural funds.
During Tuesday’s plenary session, Okafor, representing Ehime Mbano/Ihitte Uboma/Obowo Federal Constituency in Imo State, underscored the critical role of agricultural funds in ensuring the sector’s development. The motion, titled “Alleged Mismanagement of Government’s Agricultural Initiatives and Funding by Departments, Agencies, and Government Programs Outside the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security,” highlighted significant issues.
Okafor stated, “The House notes that the Federal Government, through various schemes and interventions over the last eight years, has spent over ₦2 trillion on agricultural interventions to make food available for millions of Nigerians. However, due to alleged mismanagement and misapplication of funds, as well as program abuses, Nigeria continues to face food scarcity and malnutrition.”
He emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in agricultural funding. “The House is aware of reports and allegations of abuse, mismanagement, and misapplication of government intervention funds earmarked for agricultural development and food security initiatives in Nigeria. The CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Program alone disbursed about ₦1.12 trillion to 4.67 million farmers involved in maize, rice, or wheat farming through 563 anchors.”
Okafor further detailed other significant disbursements: “The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) disbursed ₦215.067 billion to facilitate agriculture and agribusinesses. The Bank of Industry (BOI) disbursed ₦3 billion to 22,120 smallholder farmers through the Agriculture Value Chain Financing Programme, and additionally funded 49 agro and food processing businesses with ₦59.4 billion in loans.”
He also mentioned the Federal Government’s 2023 unveiling of a ₦5 billion loan facility to the Bank of Agriculture for livestock farmers across the country. “The House is also aware that funds advanced to end users of the Federal Government interventions were allegedly misused, misapplied, and channeled to non-farming and non-agricultural purposes, hence the current acute scarcity of food.”
Highlighting the urgency of the investigation, Okafor stressed, “The House is cognizant of the need to investigate government agricultural interventions and funding allocated to departments, agencies, schemes, and programs outside the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective resource utilization.”
The House directed its joint committees on Nutrition and Food Security, Agricultural Production and Services, Agricultural Colleges and Institutions, and Finance to conduct a thorough investigation into the alleged misuse of government interventions and agricultural funding. The committees are expected to submit a comprehensive report within four weeks, which will inform further legislative actions.
