Olayemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has ordered the dissolution of the Board and Executive Management of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc).
In a circular released by the apex bank, the Managing Director and CEO were instructed to hand over NIRSAL Plc’s affairs to Dr Maryam Yusuf, with all unit heads reporting to her for effective operations.
The affected Executive Management includes the Managing Director and CEO, Abbas Umar Masanawa; Executive Director of Operations, Kennedy Nwaruh; and Executive Director of Technical, Olatunde Akande.
NIRSAL Plc is a non-bank financial institution wholly owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It was established to redefine, measure, re-price, and manage agribusiness-related credit risks in Nigeria.
The institution has been embroiled in a series of corruption cases in recent years.
In January 2022, an investigation revealed that a multi-billion naira loan guaranteed by NIRSAL for three investor companies, intended for cultivating 20,000 hectares of dry season wheat in Kano and Jigawa, was allegedly diverted by the companies in collusion with NIRSAL officials.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed the former NIRSAL MD over the N5.6 billion Wheat Project scandal.
Last month, a private consultant, Dr Steve Olusegun Ogidan, returned N1.5 billion to the EFCC to avoid conviction in a case involving former NIRSAL MD, Aliyu Abdulhameed. Ogidan claimed it was legitimate earnings from consultancy services.
The EFCC sought interim forfeiture of the funds, alleging they were proceeds of unlawful activities, while Ogidan and Abdulhameed maintained the money was rightfully earned under a PMRO contract approved by NIRSAL’s board.