ABUJA — The House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security on Tuesday ramped up its scrutiny of alleged mismanagement in Nigeria’s agricultural intervention schemes, issuing stark threats of bench warrants against the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Ayo Sontinrin, and the Director-General of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Dr. Abubakar Adamu Dabban, for repeatedly snubbing summons.
Committee Chairman Hon. Chike Okafor delivered the ultimatum during the third leg of the investigative hearing into the purported diversion of N1.2 trillion in federal funds disbursed outside the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. The probe, greenlit by the House on July 1, 2025, spans multiple committees and targets high-profile programs like the Central Bank’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), which alone channeled N1.12 trillion to 4.67 million farmers via 563 anchors.
Okafor dismissed the duo’s excuses—BOA citing a recent leadership transition—as “flimsy” and “unacceptable,” emphasizing Parliament’s quasi-judicial clout. “We are not the police, but we will invoke the full weight of the law to compel attendance,” he warned, setting Wednesday as their final deadline. He contrasted their evasion with cooperative entities like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which attended inaugural sessions on April 8 and June 16, 2025, alongside participating financial institutions (PFIs). Sterling Bank’s denial of debts under ABP was corroborated by CBN correspondence dated June 25, 2025, clearing it from scrutiny.
The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) also drew ire for similar stonewalling, but the committee lauded the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), discharging it after Director-General Alhaji Fatuhu Mohammed’s testimony confirmed no involvement in the schemes. Okafor hailed Mohammed’s “exemplary” compliance, underscoring the probe’s aim to safeguard food security amid Nigeria’s hunger crisis.
Microfinance Bank Faces CBN Over Loan Discrepancy
Tensions flared when Prospect Microfinance Bank’s MD, Isaac Inwang, clashed with CBN officials over ABP disbursements. Inwang claimed receipt of N14.6 million for 30 poultry farmers, with N6 million recovered but held pending CBN guidance. CBN’s Deputy Director Hassan Tom fired back, insisting N15.5 million was released and accusing the bank of breaching guidelines by sitting on recoveries for over three years.
Okafor ordered Prospect to furnish all CBN correspondence by November 19, vowing to unpack the “inconsistencies” that could signal deeper irregularities in a program already under fire for N500 billion in losses from earlier cycles.
Wednesday’s session looms with BOA, ARCN, NIRSAL Plc, and others on the docket, as lawmakers signal no leniency in rooting out what they call a “scandal threatening Nigeria’s breadbasket.” With food inflation hovering above 30%, the probe’s revelations could reshape accountability in agri-financing—or expose systemic rot that has long starved smallholder farmers of promised lifelines.
