The deadline given by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the security agencies to recover outstanding loans from the defaulting beneficiaries of Anchor Borrower Program expires today and tension is high as no one knows the next line of action of the presidency
Recall that about N1. 1trillion was released to address agriculture and ensure food sufficiency in Nigeria under the President Buhari administration.
The program was facilitated by the sacked CBN managementunder Godwin Emefiele
Out of the N1.1 trillion disbursed by the CBN to the beneficiaries of the ABP since its inception, only a little above N546 billion was repaid.
There are reports that some companies were used as conduits for anchor borrowers’ loans.
Consequently, cronies of CBN top shots are in panic mode as investigators and security operatives pick them up one after the other for questioning.
Some genuine farmers who got a slice of the anchor borrowers’ facility but could not repay listed floods and the shutdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons for defaulting.
There are allegations of funds’ diversion by officials of CBN and other participating stakeholders who politicised an initiative designed to solve Nigerians’ food insufficiency nightmare.
Sources close to the investigation submit “There are issues around anchor borrowers’ facilities. Billions of naira has been disbursed but there are no rice paddies to repay. Where did the money go? What happened?
“So, as we dig in, if it concerns you, you will be invited. The DSS is also working with the panel. The goal is mutual.”
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