House Summons Auditor-General, Finance, Agriculture Ministers Over Farm Funds

By Oluwakemi Kindness

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating agricultural subsidies, intervention funds, aids and grants has summoned the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture over funds released for agricultural programmes between 2015 and 2025.

The decision followed what lawmakers described as unsatisfactory documentation and accountability gaps presented at a committee hearing at the National Assembly.

Chairman of the committee, Jamo Aminu, expressed dissatisfaction with the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation to provide audit reports on several agricultural subsidy and intervention programmes within the period under review.

Aminu said the investigation was part of the House’s effort to scrutinise public spending in the agricultural sector, particularly in view of concerns over food insecurity, rising food prices and questions surrounding the effectiveness of past intervention programmes.

“We cannot effectively carry out this investigation without proper audit records. These funds span a decade and involve critical national programmes,” he said, stressing that transparency and accountability were non-negotiable.

Responding, a Deputy Director at the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adamu, told the committee that the delay in producing audit reports was due to the non-availability of key documents from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

According to Adamu, the Auditor-General’s office had repeatedly requested records relating to agricultural subsidies, grants, aids and intervention programmes but had yet to receive the required documentation.

“The primary source of these documents is the Ministry of Agriculture. Without those records, concluding the audit process has been difficult,” he said.

He urged the lawmakers to expand the scope of the investigation to include the Ministries of Agriculture and Finance, noting that both ministries play key roles in the release, management and oversight of the funds.

Following the exchange, the committee directed the Auditor-General of the Federation, alongside the Ministers of Agriculture and Finance or their designated representatives, to appear before it on February 3.

The committee warned that failure to honour the summons would attract legislative sanctions, in line with the powers of the National Assembly.