The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed in its latest financial statement that ₦311 billion remains unpaid under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), marking a reduction from the ₦424 billion outstanding at the close of the 2023 fiscal year.
The disclosure comes amid growing concerns about transparency and accountability in the disbursement and management of the scheme, especially following years of complaints by farmers and stakeholders.
In a 2022 report by SaharaReporters, members of the Smallholder Economic Interest Farmers Agricultural Cooperative (SEIFAC) expressed frustration over their inability to access loans, despite having registered for the ABP as far back as 2020. Many farmers said they were instructed to deposit funds into newly created Heritage Bank accounts as part of the loan disbursement process, but never received the promised funding.
“What we received were branded ATM cards, and not everyone even got those,” a farmer had told SaharaReporters. “The SEIFAC WhatsApp group, which was our only source of updates, has been locked for months with no new information.”
Tensions escalated when farmers refused to share their ATM card details with SEIFAC due to rumors that a portion of their proposed ₦3 million loans would be deducted in favor of the cooperative. Since then, communications from SEIFAC have reportedly ceased, leaving thousands of farmers in the dark.
Despite claims that the CBN had already released funds to support the farmers, many remain skeptical due to the lack of transparency.
In March 2024, the Nigerian Senate inaugurated an ad-hoc committee to probe allegations of corruption linked to the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and the CBN’s Ways and Means facility. Earlier, in January 2024, SaharaReporters detailed claims of widespread fraud within the Development Finance Department of the CBN, previously headed by Yusuf Philip Yila. Insiders accused the department of awarding contracts to cronies and making payments for fictitious purchases.
Further implicating the program’s credibility, Thomas Etuh, former chairman of TAK Agro Group, was accused of diverting proceeds from fertiliser sales under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI), allegedly in collaboration with other parties.
The ABP, launched in 2015 to boost agricultural productivity and reduce food imports, now faces growing scrutiny as lawmakers and the public demand full disclosure and recovery of disbursed but unaccounted funds.
Saharareporters
