Speaker House of Representatives Dr AbbasTajudeen, has expressed disappointment over poor performance of the Nigeria’s Development Finance Institutions in the implementation of 12 trillion naira injected into the sector in seven years.
He made statement while inaugurating an ad-hoc committee set up to investigate the performances of the institutions for a period of seven years.
Represented by the House Deputy Majority Leader Halims Abdullahi, emphasized that many of the DFIs have failed to achieve the objectives they were established for despite receiving trillions of naira from the public funds. He said the probe is expected to clarify how the institutions function, how they utilise public funds, and whether they have delivered on their core mandates of stimulating growth in key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, exports, and small businesses.
The committee Chairman Mr Chidi Mark Obetta, explained that panel would take a deep and objective look into how public funds meant to drive industrialisation, agricultural development, small and medium enterprise empowerment, and infrastructural growth have been utilised by the DFIs.
The committee Chairman, confirmed that the committee’s work was a response to rising public concern over transparency, impact and accountability of the institutions which were established to bridge financing gaps not covered by commercial banks and to serve as engines of inclusive development.
He said Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, Nigeria Export-Import Bank, Infrastructure Bank, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, and the Development Bank of Nigeria, among others, have been identified as key stakeholders during the investigation process.
