The House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security Tuesday said it is poised to unravel how Central Bank of Nigeria, through the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) disbursed about N1.12 trillion to 4.67 million farmers involved in either maize, rice or wheat farming through 563 anchors.
The committee equally promised to unveil how Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) disbursed ₦215,066,980,274.50 so far to facilitate agriculture and agribusinesses and how the Bank of Industry disbursed ₦3 billion to 22,120 small holder farmers through the Agriculture Value Chain Financing (AVCF) programme. Additionally, the bank funded 49 agro and food processing businesses with ₦59.4 billion in loans.
Chairman of the committee, Chike Okafor disclosed this at the commencement of investigation at the National Assembly.
He said in 2023, the federal government unveiled a N5 billion loan facility to the Bank of Agriculture for Livestock farmers across the country and they needed to know the status of the programme.
“National Agricultural Development Fund in March, 2024 inaugurated a ₦1.6 billion Recovery Fund for the Ginger Blight Epidemics Central Task Force (GBECT) for the control of blight disease in Ginger and indeed other interventions and programmes done by relevant Agencies for agricultural development and food security.
“One of the key oversight mandates of the committee is to ensure proper implementation of intervention programmes by relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government related to food security and nutrition” he said.
He said that the investigation was to find out If truly these huge funds budgeted for food production are utilised in a judicious manner in order to ensure food security in the country.
He threatened to issue warrants of arrest on agencies over their absence at the on-going investigation into the Anchor Borrowers Scheme and other policies of the federal government agricultural programmes.
He listed some of the agencies that were invited and did not honour the House committee’s invitation as the Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), National Agricultural Seed Council and NIRSAL Micro-Finance Bank.
Okafor said that outside the managing director of the Bank of Industry (BOI) wrote to the committee to be excused from the investigation as he travelled outside the country, other agencies that did not honour the House Committee’s invitation will be made to appear unfailingly before the probe panel.
Making a presentation at the hearing, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Olayemi Cardoso, who was represented by Kwasari Harman, an acting director in CBN said they disbursed 1.21 trillion and 871billion among others.
The apex bank said that all the commercial banks in the country received funds from the federal government on the Anchor Borrowers Scheme of the previous administration.
