The House of Representatives is zeroing in on three insurers as part of a probe into the troubled N1.12 trillion Anchor Borrowers Programme, a flagship initiative meant to support smallholder farmers but plagued by diversion allegations and spotty coverage.
The House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, led by Chike Okafor, summoned the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Leadway Insurance and Veritas Kapital Insurance to account for their role in providing risk protection for the loans.
At Thursday’s hearing, NAIC’s representative—standing in for Managing Director Dayo Babaronti—admitted the state-run insurer covered just 207,514 farmers for 109 billion naira, or roughly 12% of the program’s needs.
That left vast gaps, lawmakers said, as complaints from farmers pile up over failed payouts and program shortfalls.
Babaronti told the panel the Central Bank of Nigeria upended the original plan, which envisioned NAIC as the sole provider, by tapping private rivals Leadway and Veritas Kapital.
Neither firm sent representatives, prompting Okafor to blast their no-shows as “concerning.”
The scrutiny extends beyond Anchor Borrowers.
NAIC insured only N8.25 billion of NIRSAL Plc’s 250 Nbillion lending facility, the representative said.
In a ginger-farming project, coverage hit N715 million for 80 hectares out of 1.6 billion naira funded.
NAIC got zero business, despite policy expectations.
“We wouldn’t be here if these programs had succeeded 100%,” Okafor said, vowing to haul NAIC back for deeper review after late document submissions. Preliminary findings point to ministries, agencies and banks mishandling funds, while farmers and commodity groups were sidelined from the design phase.
The committee plans to reconvene as Nigeria’s agriculture sector grapples with the fallout from one of its biggest lending pushes.
