The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has alleged that protesters were financially induced to protest against the institution and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
NIRSAL is a $500 million Non-Bank Financial Institution, wholly-owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and created to Redefine, Dimension, Measure, Re-Price and Share agribusiness-related credit risks in Nigeria.
The protesters were reported to have staged days of protest at the office of NIRSAL, with placards which had inscription that read, “Anchor Borrowers Programme is a lie, CBN and NIRSAL are diverting farmers’ money.”
According to a statement obtained by THE WHISTLER, staff of NIRSAL who engaged the protesters, said that they admitted being unaware of the agency’s operations.
The employees added that the protesters admitted that they were paid to stage the protest by people who wanted to sabotage the agricultural reforms of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
According to the statement, the protesters also said that they had no knowledge of how the Anchor Borrowers Programme worked. They added that their sponsors helped them to secure police permit, to legalise the protest.
The Head, Corporate Communications, NIRSAL, Anne Ihugba, described the protest as an attempt to discredit the body’s efforts to improve the lives of farmers in the country, adding that, “facts do not lie.”
According to her, “Though NIRSAL found the inauspicious visit as an opportunity to engage and enlighten more young people on its agribusiness initiatives and the promise they hold, the protest smacked of a witch-hunt and well-crafted agenda to smear the organization.
“Questioned individually, the boys admitted to belonging to no ABP tickets and were in fact recruited from Abuja and environs, particularly from areas such as Mararaba, Mabushi and Jabi. This negates the claim that they are farmers from Kebbi State.”
“To be absolutely clear, all successful ABP applications for the 2019 farming seasons have been honoured by NIRSAL. As required by the guidelines issued by the Central Bank, farmers with incomplete loan documentations are prevented from accessing the funds in their accounts until they meet the obligations.”
