Reports have it that Nassar Abubakar Saddiq Baba, son of the Bauchi state governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abubakar Sadique is being investigated over alleged diversion and non-refund of an N3.6 billion agricultural loan.
ASHENEWS has not confirmed the report but sources conversant with the matter said Baba is being questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over his failure to refund the N3.6 billion loan facilitated by the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing system for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), and the Anchor Borrower agricultural initiatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
According to the source, instead of putting the loan to the purpose for which it was granted, it was meant, diverted, and purchased exclusive properties in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; which led to his questioning by the EFCC on February 15, 2023, and is still being investigated.
Recall that NIRSAL was launched in 2011 and was incorporated in 2013 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a dynamic, holistic $500 million public-private initiative to catalyse the flow of finance and investments into fixed agricultural value chains.
NIRSAL seeks to address the causes of low funding levels in the agriculture sector, including a lack of understanding of the sector, perceived high risks, complex credit assessment processes/procedures, and high transaction costs.
Similarly, the Anchor Borrower Programme ABP was set up with the broad objective of creating economic linkages between smallholder farmers and processors with a view to increasing agricultural output and ensuring food price stability.
The specific objectives of the ABP include: increasing banks’ financing to improve agricultural productivity by creating an ecosystem that drives value chain financing; reducing the nation’s food import bill through import substitution and enhanced domestic value addition; creating a new generation of farmers through innovative financing to support smart agriculture; and deepening financial inclusion and grow smallholder farmers from subsistence to commercial farming.
“For people like Nassar, who is obviously not into any form of the agricultural venture to use the advantages of their family influence to acquire and divert the loan for personal ventures at the detriment of the Nigerian nation and the Scheme’s targeted beneficiaries, constitutes gross economic fraud that should be investigated and punished.
“The targeted beneficiaries of the ABP is meant to be smallholder farmers and medium to large scale farmers engaged in the production of agricultural commodities across the country, and of course, Nassar and his ilk do not fall within this category,” said a financial security expert.
