The House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has commenced an investigative hearing into alleged mismanagement of agricultural funding and interventions by various departments and agencies outside the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
The probe stems from a House resolution mandating the Committee to scrutinise the handling of public funds by key institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, and the National Agricultural Development Fund, among others.
Declaring the hearing open in Abuja on Tuesday, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Deacon Chike Okafor, clarified that the inquiry is not a witch-hunt but an effort to uncover the truth, identify institutional failures, and ensure proper accountability in the use of public funds meant to drive agricultural development.
He stated that “despite trillions of naira spent over the years on various agricultural programmes, Nigeria still battles with food scarcity, soaring prices, and widespread malnutrition.
“If these funds were judiciously utilized, we would not be facing a crisis where millions of Nigerians cannot afford basic meals.”
The Committee is focusing on several specific areas, including:
– The Central Bank of Nigeria’s disbursement of ₦1.12 trillion to 4.67 million farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
– NIRSAL’s release of ₦215 billion to support agricultural ventures and agribusinesses.
– The Bank of Industry’s disbursement of ₦3 billion to over 22,000 smallholder farmers and an additional ₦59.4 billion to agro and food processing businesses.
– The Bank of Agriculture’s ₦5 billion loan facility launched in 2023 to support livestock farmers.
– The ₦1.6 billion Recovery Fund deployed by the National Agricultural Development Fund in 2024 to combat the ginger blight epidemic.
The Committee has demanded extensive documentation covering the 2017–2024 period, including legal authorisations, total fund receipts, loan agreements, disbursement records, performance indicators, lists of beneficiaries, and projections for the year 2025.
Officials from eleven relevant agencies and institutions were invited to the hearing, including the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, and the National Agricultural Seed Council.
Acknowledging the recent leadership change at the Bank of Agriculture, Hon. Okafor said the Committee had received a formal notification of the appointment of a new Managing Director.
He urged all invited agencies to fully cooperate with the investigation and provide transparent, truthful information. “Accountability is not an option—it is a necessity,” he asserted. “The Nigerian people deserve to know how their resources are being used.”
Okafor also appealed to the media and civil society organisations to support the process through factual reporting and active participation.
“The goal is not to antagonize but to collaborate in finding solutions. Where there are inefficiencies, let us correct them. Where there are infractions, let us take necessary actions to prevent recurrence,” he said.
The Committee will continue its hearing sessions in the coming weeks, engaging stakeholders and agencies as it works to improve transparency, food security, and public trust in Nigeria’s agricultural system.
