NASS: House Committee Threatens Sanctions Against Finance, Agric Ministers, Auditor-General Over Missing Farm Subsidy Funds

By Urube Peter, Abuja

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing Agricultural Subsidies, Intervention Funds, Aids and Grants Programmes has summoned the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; the Minister of Agriculture, Senator Abubakar Kyari; and the Auditor-General of the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, to appear before it on February 3.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Jamo Aminu, expressed dissatisfaction with the documents submitted so far, citing glaring gaps in accountability and record-keeping. He particularly faulted the Office of the Auditor-General for its inability to present audit reports on several agricultural subsidy and intervention programmes covering the period between 2015 and 2025.
According to the committee, the investigation is aimed at examining public expenditure in the agricultural sector, especially against the backdrop of worsening food insecurity, rising food prices, and lingering concerns over the effectiveness of previous intervention initiatives.
Hon. Aminu stressed that transparency and accountability remain non-negotiable, warning that failure by the summoned officials to honour the invitation would attract appropriate legislative sanctions.
Explaining the delay in submitting the required audit reports, a Deputy Director in the Office of the Auditor-General, Mohammed Adamu, blamed the situation on the non-availability of critical documents from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. He disclosed that the office had made several requests for the relevant records but had received no cooperation.