The Chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Hon. Chike Okafor, has threatened to issue bench warrants for the arrest of 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.
The threat came during the resumed investigative hearing of the Committee on Tuesday into the alleged misuse of N1.2 trillion in agricultural intervention funding. Hon. Okafor warned that failure to appear at the hearing would compel the Committee to invoke all powers of Parliament to ensure their attendance.
“As the investigations proceeded, it has become public that multiple invitations and letters sent to the Bank of Agriculture, ARCN, and the National Agricultural Land Development Council were either ignored or met with flimsy excuses,” Okafor said. “The Bank of Agriculture claimed a new MD was appointed, but that is not a valid reason to avoid our summons. We expect their presence tomorrow; otherwise, we will take necessary parliamentary actions.”
The Committee also demanded documents and correspondences between Prospect Micro-Finance Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regarding a funding dispute. The Micro-Finance Bank’s MD, Mr. Isaac Inwang, informed the Committee that N14.6 million had been disbursed to 30 poultry farmers, with N6 million recovered and held by the Bank pending CBN instructions. However, the CBN stated that N15.5 million was disbursed and criticized the Bank for holding recovered funds for over three years, contrary to guidelines.
Okafor directed the Micro-Finance Bank to submit all requested documents on Wednesday, November 19, and prepare to answer questions regarding alleged breaches of CBN laws and guidelines.
Meanwhile, the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) was cleared of involvement in the Anchor Borrowers’ agricultural intervention following submissions by its DG, Alhaji Fatuhu Muhammed. The Committee confirmed that NASC did not participate in the implementation of the program.
The House had, on July 1, 2025, mandated the Committees on Nutrition and Food Security, Agricultural Production and Services, Agricultural Colleges and Institutions, and Finance to investigate the alleged misuse of government agricultural intervention funds by agencies and programs outside the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
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