Reps summon auditor-general, ministers over agriculture funds spent in 10 years

The House of Representatives has summoned the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF), the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, to account for funds disbursed for agricultural subsidies, intervention schemes, aids and grants between 2015 and 2025.

The directive was issued by the House Ad-hoc Committee probing the programmes after lawmakers faulted the quality of documents submitted at a recent hearing, describing them as incomplete and unsatisfactory for effective oversight.

Chairman of the committee, Jamo Aminu (APC, Katsina), said the Office of the AuGF failed to present audit reports covering several agricultural intervention initiatives within the 10-year period under review.

Mr Aminu explained that the investigation was aimed at examining public spending in the agricultural sector, particularly against the backdrop of worsening food insecurity, escalating food prices and persistent doubts about the impact of government-backed intervention programmes.

According to him, the committee expected detailed audit records that would allow lawmakers to trace how funds were released, utilised and whether the programmes achieved their intended objectives of supporting farmers and boosting food production.

“We cannot effectively carry out this investigation without proper audit records. These funds span a decade and involve critical national programmes,” Mr Aminu said, adding that openness in the management of public resources remained non-negotiable.

In his response, a deputy director at the Office of the AuGF, Mohammed Adamu, attributed the delay in producing the audit reports to the failure of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to supply essential documents.

Mr Adamu told the panel that repeated requests for records relating to agricultural subsidies, grants and intervention funds had not yielded the necessary cooperation from the ministry, making it difficult to conclude the audit process.

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

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He also advised the committee to formally involve both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance, noting that the two ministries are central to the disbursement, administration and oversight of the funds in question.

At the end of the session, the committee resolved to summon the AuGF, as well as the ministers of agriculture and finance, or their representatives, to appear before it on 3 February.

The lawmakers warned that failure to comply with the summons would attract sanctions in line with the constitutional powers of the National Assembly.