N54.9bn, N3bn Anchor Borrowers Scheme: House To Issue Warrant of Arrest on BOI, 25 Deposit Banks
By Tom Okpe
The House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food has threatened to issue warrant of Arrest on Bank of Industry, BOI, CEO and 25 other deposit banks, for failing to appear before it.
The is in connection with the disbursement of N54.9bn, and additional N3bn to farmers on the Anchor Borrowers Scheme under the National Agricultural Development Fund of the Federal Government.
Chairman of the House Committee, Rep Chike Okafor issued the threat at the rescheduled investigative hearing organized by the House Committee on the Scheme by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN on Monday in Abuja.
The lawmaker said the investigation is centred on alleged misuse of intervention funds of the CBN on the Anchor Borrowers Scheme by Ministries Departments and Agencies, MDAs, and 25 deposit money banks.
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He said: “The investigation is to unravel how the Bank of Industry, BOI, disbursed the N3 billion to small holder farmers thorough the CBN intervention funds, the House panel is determined to ensure full disclosure on all allocated funds to Government agencies and other institutions.”
The House Committee listed the deposit money bank that have access to funds from the coffers of the CBN but have not provided the Committee with the requested documents to include ECO Bank, Excellence Micro-Finance Bank, Fidelity Bank, First City Monument Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Heritage bank.
Others are Fortis Micro Finance Bank, Polaris Bank, Providus Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Sterling Bank, Trust Micro-Finance Bank, Sun Trust Bank, Union Bank , United Bank for Africa, UBA, Zenith Bank and Keystone Bank.
The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, represented by John Hmman Acting Director, Development Banking said some of the banks invited at the hearing had paid off their outstanding balances of the funds under investigation.
The House Committee Chairman and other members while insisting on unraveling identities of the beneficiaries of these funds demanded for the criteria used in selection of the farmers.
Rep Okafor threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on the chief executive of any of the deposit money banks that accessed the funds, but failed to appear at the hearing.
