The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating agricultural subsidies, intervention funds, aids and grants programmes has summoned Shaakaa Chira, Auditor-General of the Federation; Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture over the use of funds released for agricultural programmes between 2015 and 2025.
The summons followed what lawmakers described as poor documentation and gaps in accountability in records submitted to the committee at a hearing in the National Assembly.
The committee directed the officials to appear before it on February 3, warning that failure to honour the summons would attract legislative sanctions, in line with the powers of the National Assembly.
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Jamo Aminu, Chairman of the committee, said he was dissatisfied with the failure 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.
He said the investigation forms part of the House efforts to closely examine public spending in the agricultural sector, against the backdrop of worsening food insecurity, rising food prices and growing concerns about the impact of past intervention schemes.
Aminu said the Committee expected full audit documentation that would allow lawmakers to track how funds were disbursed, how they were used and what results were achieved by the various programmes designed to boost food production, support farmers and improve national food security.
“We cannot effectively carry out this investigation without proper audit records. These funds cover a decade and involve critical national programmes,” he said, adding that transparency and accountability were not negotiable.
In response, Mohammed Adamu, a Deputy Director in the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, told the Committee that the delay in producing the audit reports was caused by the absence of key documents from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
Adamu said the Auditor-General’s office had made several requests for records relating to agricultural subsidies, grants, aids and intervention programmes, but had not received the necessary cooperation.
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“The main source of these documents is the Ministry of Agriculture. Without them, completing the audit has been difficult,” he said.
He urged the Committee to extend the investigation to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance, noting that both ministries play central roles in the release, management and oversight of the funds.
