The House of Representatives has ordered probe of
Bank of Agriculture (BoA) over the usage of funds disbursed by the bank to
defaulting anchor companies under the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) and the
non-recovery of N81,502,822,030.31 balance.
The House also mandated its Committees on
Agricultural Production and Services and Banking and Currency to investigative
the role of BoA, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Agricultural
Insurance Corporation (NAIC) and other relevant bodies involved in the Anchor
Borrowers' Programme and report back within four weeks for further legislative
action.
These resolutions were sequel to the adoption of a
motion titled: 'Need to Investigate the Usage of Funds Disbursed by the Bank of
Agriculture to Anchor Companies under the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP)’, sponsored
by Hon. Sergius Ose Ogun.
Presenting the motion, Ogun noted that the CBN, in
line with its mandate, established the Anchor Borrowers Programme with the
intent to create a linkage between anchor companies involved in processing and
the small holder farmers of key agricultural commodities.
He said the House is aware that out of the N104, 226,956,985.10
provided by the CBN for the scheme, a total of N86, 634, 165,880.59 was
disbursed to the anchor companies while the sum of N81, 502,322,030.31 is yet
to be recovered from the defaulting anchor companies.
The lawmaker said with the non-recovery of the
outstanding N81, 502,822,030.31, other potential smallholder farmers (SHF) who
would have been beneficiaries of the scheme are being denied the opportunity to
benefit from the scheme.
He expressed concerns that the non-recovery of the said
balance of the loan from the Anchor companies is negatively affecting the
overall objective of the Anchor Borrowers Programme, being a revolving fund.
Similarly, the House also ordered an investigation
into the activities of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).
The Green Chamber, after adopting a motion on the
'Need to Investigate the Activities of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria’,
sponsored by Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, directed its Committee on Housing to as a
matter of urgency investigate the structure, operations and challenges facing
the bank and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
Ihonvbere, while presenting the motion, said the
Federal Mortgage Bank, inspite of the large sums of contributors’ money and the
force of legality at its disposal, failed to deliver on its mandate of
providing housing for Nigerians.
He stressed that the continuous retention of such
large sums of money by the bank is a veritable source of corruption which
should be discouraged.
The lawmaker expressed concerns that the bank has
only been able to deliver a paltry 28,000 housing units across the country in
the face of the ever burgeoning demand for housing in Nigeria, adding that with
the pace at which it is going, a large percentage of contributors will never be
able to actualise their dreams of owning a house of their own in their life
time.
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