The House of Representatives has indicted the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari over alleged misuse of government interventions and agricultural funding amounting to N2 trillion by various departments, agencies, schemes, and programmes outside the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
The House has mandated its Committees on Nutrition and Food Security, Agricultural Production and Services, Agricultural Colleges and Institutions, and Finance to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the alleged misuse. This decision followed a motion moved by Hon. Chike Okafor during Tuesday’s plenary session.
Hon. Okafor expressed concern over the growing food scarcity and malnutrition in Nigeria, alleging that funds intended for agricultural development over the past eight years were mismanaged. He highlighted that the Federal Government, through various schemes and interventions, has spent over N2 trillion on agricultural initiatives aimed at ensuring food security for millions of Nigerians. However, due to alleged mismanagement, misapplication of funds, and abuse of these programs, the country continues to face food scarcity and malnutrition.
According to Hon. Okafor, the Central Bank of Nigeria, through the Anchor Borrowers Program, disbursed approximately N1.12 trillion to 4.67 million farmers involved in maize, rice, or wheat farming through 563 anchors. Additionally, the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) disbursed over N215 billion to facilitate agriculture and agro-businesses. The Bank of Industry (BOI) also disbursed N3 billion to 22,120 smallholder farmers through the Agriculture Value Chain Financing (AVCF) Programme and funded 49 agro and food processing businesses with N59.4 billion in loans.
In 2023, the Federal Government unveiled a N5 billion loan facility to the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) for livestock farmers across the country. Furthermore, in March 2024, the National Agricultural Development Fund inaugurated a N1.6 billion Recovery Fund for the Ginger Blight Epidemics Central Taskforce (GBECT) to control Blight disease in ginger.
Hon. Okafor alleged that funds advanced to end users of these federal interventions were misused, misapplied, and diverted to non-farming and non-agricultural purposes, leading to the current acute food scarcity. He emphasized the critical role of the agricultural sector in ensuring food security, improving nutrition, and supporting the livelihoods of millions of Nigerians. Any abuse of these programs and schemes, he noted, drastically affects millions of innocent citizens.
Given these concerns, Hon. Okafor stressed 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 motion was passed, and the House has mandated the relevant committees to carry out the investigation and report back within four legislative weeks for further legislative actions.
