The House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has initiated a probe into the alleged diversion of N1.12 trillion disbursed under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme.
The program, designed to support small holder farmers across the country, reportedly involved 24 financial institutions and provided funding to approximately 4.67 million farmers engaged in rice, maize, and wheat production.
The committee’s investigation aims to ensure transparency and accountability in the disbursement of funds by participating Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
Concerns have been raised over the lack of documentary evidence from some financial institutions, with only nine out of 24 submitting proof of participation and fund utilization.
According to the Chairman of the committee, Hon. Chike Okafor, the probe seeks to examine how the Central Bank of Nigeria disbursed the funds to farmers through 563 anchors.
The committee is also scrutinizing the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Microfinance Bank over the expenditure of N215 billion on agrobusinesses and the Bank of Industry’s role in disbursing N3 billion to smallholder farmers.
