Business
Group Wants CBN Probed Over Misappropriation Of N55bn
A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Centre For Anti Corruption and Open Leadership (CA COL), has urged the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over allegations that N55 billion allocated for the funding of the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) has been misappropriated.
Executive Chairman of the group, Mr. Debo Adeniran made the demand recently, while briefing journalists on the issue in Port Harcourt.
Adeniran cited section six (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 as the statutory provision which empowers the anti-graft agency to investigate corruption cases pertaining to public institutions in Nigeria.
He condemned the manner in which the huge government revenue which was approved to provide support to rice farmers was allegedly diverted to people he described as “strangers and political hangers on who are not involved in agriculture”.
The group leader further admonished the anti-graft agency to beam its search light on how the ABP funds were disbursed in five states of the federation which include, Kebbi, Kaduna, Lagos, Ebonyi and Ekiti.
He urged the body to investigate the role played by the affected state governments, adding that anyone fingered should be arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated over the diversion of “this huge public funds.”
The organisation, however, expressed outrage that, “the misappropriated fund, which ought to have been used to finance the Federal Government’s plan to boost rice production across the nation in pursuit of the country’s self-sufficiency agenda for this staple crop, now appears to have been jeopardised due to the activities of corrupt elements and their accomplices within the CBN.
Adeniran expressed wonder over how corrupt individuals at the country’s apex bank could have authorised the release of such a huge sum in cash, thereby violating basic rules which stipulated that such transactions ought to be carried out through the nation’s banking system.
Bethel Toby & Emmanuel Wokoma