Following concerns raised by lawmakers over weak documentation and accountability gaps in records presented at a hearing in the National Assembly, the House of Representatives committee probing agricultural subsidies and intervention programmes has summoned key government officials over the handling of funds released between 2015 and 2025.
Those invited to appear before the committee include the Auditor General of the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari.
The lawmakers fixed February 3 for their appearance and cautioned that ignoring the summons would attract sanctions as provided by the powers of the legislature.
The panel is examining spending on agricultural subsidies, grants, aids and intervention schemes over the last decade, amid rising food prices, worsening food shortages and increasing public scrutiny of past government programmes in the sector.
Chairman of the committee, Jamo Aminu, said lawmakers were dissatisfied with the quality of information supplied so far, particularly the failure of the Office of the Auditor General to submit comprehensive audit reports on several major agricultural programmes.
According to Aminu, the absence of detailed audit records makes it impossible for the House to determine how public funds were released, how they were applied and whether the programmes achieved their stated objectives of boosting food production, supporting farmers and strengthening national food security.
“These are funds covering ten years and they relate to programmes that are vital to the country. Transparency and accountability are not optional,” he said, stressing that proper records were essential for the investigation to move forward.
Responding to the criticism, a Deputy Director in the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, Mohammed Adamu, told the committee that delays in completing the audits were linked to missing documents from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
He explained that repeated requests had been made for records on subsidies, grants and intervention programmes but that the required materials had not been fully provided, making it difficult to finalize the audit process.
Adamu advised the lawmakers to widen the scope of the probe to include both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance, noting that the two ministries are central to the release, management and supervision of agricultural funds.
