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House of Rep Probe N1.12 Trillion Anchor Borrowers Fund

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N1.12 Trillion

The House of Representatives is probing alleged Agricultural Fund Diversion of N1.12 trillion from the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme

The alleged Agricultural Fund Diversion of over N1.12 trillion, allocated for the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), is now under investigation by the House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security.

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This initiative was designed to support smallholder farmers nationwide.

During an investigative hearing held on Tuesday in Abuja, the committee expressed significant concern over the lack of transparency and accountability in the disbursement of these funds by participating Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Hon. Chike Okafor, Chairman of the committee, disclosed that while the programme reportedly involved 24 financial institutions, only nine have provided sufficient evidence of their participation and fund utilisation.

The CBN, under the ABP, reportedly disbursed N1.12 trillion to approximately 4.67 million farmers engaged in rice, maize, and wheat production, in collaboration with 563 anchor companies.

In addition to probing the MDAs, the committee is scrutinising the Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Microfinance Bank over the expenditure of N215 billion on agribusinesses.

Lawmakers are also examining the Bank of Industry’s role in disbursing N3 billion to 22,120 smallholder farmers through the Agriculture Value Chain Financing Programme.

Okafor emphasised the importance of the probe, stressing its role in ensuring food security and protecting the integrity of public funds intended for the nation’s agricultural transformation.

“The CBN should note that we are aware it has about 24 participating financial institutions through which it disbursed these humongous amounts,” Okafor stated.

“I am also aware that you (CBN) have written to 24 of them but we have evidence of only nine. Please, note this.”

With this remittance, Sterling Bank has no outstanding balance — zero naira, zero kobo— under the programme.

He added, “Secondly, we are probing how NIRSAL disbursed N215 billion so far to facilitate agriculture and agribusinesses. Also, the Bank of Industry on how it disbursed N3 billion to 22,120 smallholder farmers through the agriculture value chain financing programme.”

The committee’s establishment represents a legislative effort to collaborate with the executive and other stakeholders, addressing food related challenges and ensuring Nigeria becomes a food secure and well nourished nation.

Meanwhile, Charles Bassey, a representative of NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, cited insecurity as a major obstacle to the effective implementation of the bank’s loan scheme.

He explained that the bank strictly adhered to established guidelines when selecting beneficiaries for the intervention.

“It was based on those guidelines that we disbursed these funds. Some of the challenges that they have written about include insecurity challenges. Some beneficiaries explained that after investing their funds in agricultural ventures, they were unable to return to their farms due to incidents of banditry and attacks by herdsmen.”

Bassey noted this disrupted seasonal farming activities and affected harvests. He added that natural disasters such as flooding and drought were also major setbacks.

A number of beneficiaries have appealed for a restructuring of the loan facility to allow more time for repayment.

Meanwhile, Olushola Obikanye, Group Head of Agric Finance and Solid Minerals at Sterling Bank, stated that the bank had remitted a total of N113.49 billion to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), clearing its obligations under the scheme.

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“The amount includes both undisbursed funds that were returned and disbursed funds recovered,” Obikanye confirmed.

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Rivers state of emergency: Is Nigeria’s democracy safe with its courts?

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Tinubu emergency powers face renewed legal scrutiny as Nigerian courts again avoid ruling on the scope of presidential authority

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Heartbreak as Allwell Ademola dies in Lagos home

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Allwell Ademola

Nollywood actress Allwell Ademola dies at 43 after reportedly suffering a heart attack at her Lagos home, prompting widespread grief in the film industry

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Conference Supervising Prophet Calls for renewed holiness and discipline as we celebrate Christmas, prepares for new year

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The Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Ayo Ni O Conference, has extended warm seasonal greetings to members of the church and the wider Christian community as it joins believers across the world to celebrate Christmas and usher in the New Year, using the occasion to call for sober reflection, renewed consecration and deeper commitment to Christian values.

In a Christmas and New Year message issued from the Office of the Conference Supervising Prophet, Snr. Sp. Apos. Pro. Dr. Joel Olayinka Adeniran, the church described the season as a sacred period that goes beyond festivity, reminding Christians of the humility, obedience and sacrificial love embodied in the birth of Jesus Christ. According to the leadership, Christmas remains a defining spiritual milestone that calls believers back to the core essence of their faith and walk with God.

“Christmas reminds us of the humility, obedience, and sacrificial love of Christ, ‘who, being in very nature of God… humbled Himself and became obedient unto death,’” the message stated, noting that the season should inspire thanksgiving to God for life, calling and service.

Rooted within the historic Cherubim and Seraphim movement, one of Africa’s oldest indigenous Christian denominations, C&S Ayo Ni O has continued to uphold a strong tradition of holiness, prayer, prophetic ministry and spiritual discipline. The church leadership noted that the transition into a new year presents an opportunity for all believers to reassess their spiritual posture and recommit themselves to upright living, faithfulness and obedience to God’s will.

As part of the broader seasonal reflection, the church encouraged members to approach the New Year with renewed resolve, clearer vision and deeper spiritual consciousness, stressing that growth in grace must be matched with growth in character. The message affirmed that Christian service, regardless of office or calling, must be rooted in integrity and reverence for God.

However, the message became more pointed as it narrowed its focus to prophets and prophetesses within the C&S Ayo Ni O Conference, underscoring what the leadership described as the unique weight, dignity and responsibility of the prophetic office. Dr. Adeniran reminded prophetic officers that their calling places them in visible positions of spiritual representation, both within the church and before the wider society.

“As Prophets and Prophetesses, we are ambassadors of Christ and stewards of divine mysteries,” the Conference Supervising Prophet declared, adding that “the Cross we bear in this prophetic vocation is not ornamental; it is sacrificial.” He stressed that the prophetic calling demands “integrity, dignity, holiness, and uncompromising obedience to God,” warning that character must always validate prophecy.

Emphasising the need for exemplary conduct, the church charged prophets and prophetesses to maintain the highest standards of discipline in their personal lives, relationships, doctrine and public engagements. The leadership cautioned against behaviours capable of bringing reproach to the prophetic office, including internal strife, bitterness, jealousy and moral compromise.

“I therefore charge you, in this season and beyond, to maintain the highest level of discipline in conduct, speech, doctrine, and lifestyle,” the message read, warning that immorality and discord undermine the sanctity of prophetic ministry and weaken the church’s moral authority.

The address also reflected growing concern within the church about the misuse of social media by religious leaders, a trend that has sparked controversy across Nigeria’s faith space. The C&S Ayo Ni O leadership admonished prophets and prophetesses to exercise restraint and wisdom in their digital presence, noting that online conduct is an extension of spiritual responsibility.

“Furthermore, I admonish all Prophets and Prophetesses to desist from all undignified and unwholesome use of social media,” Dr. Adeniran stated. “Every utterance, post, or engagement must reflect the gravity of our calling.” He warned that careless digital behaviour risks trivialising and commercialising the prophetic mantle.

Beyond individual accountability, the message also placed responsibility on leadership structures within the church, particularly officers of the Prophetic Council at district and conference levels. The leadership charged them to enforce discipline consistently and without compromise, describing accountability as essential to preserving the integrity of the prophetic institution.

“To all Officers of the Prophetic Council, both at the District and Conference levels, I give a solemn charge: do not cover, excuse, or tolerate behaviours that are inimical to the right disposition of a Prophet,” the statement warned, noting that discipline administered in love safeguards the collective witness of the church.

As the New Year approaches, the church called on prophets and prophetesses to renew their covenant of holiness, faithfulness and accountability, urging them to function as watchmen with clean hands and pure hearts. The leadership stressed that prophetic authority is sustained not by visibility or popularity but by upright living and obedience to God’s word.

The message concluded with prayers and goodwill for the season, expressing confidence that those who remain faithful to their calling will experience deeper grace and spiritual authority in the coming year. Dr. Adeniran assured members that divine calling is accompanied by divine enablement, declaring that “faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.”

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