CBN asked to hand over Anchor Borrowers Programme to Agric Ministry

The National Agricultural Foundation has called on Central Bank of Nigeria to hand over the administration of Anchor Borrowers Programme to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) for the initiative to be effective.

Chairman, National Agricultural Foundation, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, explained that there is an urgent need for the CBN to allow FMARD carry out its mandate and this involves promoting agricultural production in the country.

He said the mandate of the CBN is to act as referee or monitor financial transactions and not to take over the function of any ministry, Daily Trust reported.

Adamu’s words: “The Bank of Agriculture is better placed like the Bank of Industry (BOI) as development banks to take responsibility in administering money from government with the aim of promoting agricultural production in the country. 

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The senator added that ABP was within the purview of the bank called the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), so, it should not have been domiciled with the CBN. He called on the appropriate authorities to recapitalize the BOA as it is better positioned to carry out agricultural programmes rather than letting CBN carry out the mandate.

“The Anchor Borrowers Programme, for example, if you check how much money has gone in there as from 2016 to date, you will find out that the money is over and above, about four times the budget provision for Ministry of Agriculture. 

 “CBN has put itself in a very precarious situation. The same apex bank as I talk to you today has not paid up its capital for recapitalising the bank of agriculture since 1974 when the agric bank was established. 

“So, it is in distress, there is no doubt about it and everybody knows why it is in distress. Till this very moment, both the Ministry of Finance and the CBN have not lived up to their responsibilities of recapitalising the bank of agriculture,” he added.