Harrison EDEH
THE Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is facing a major accountability problem after the Auditor-General for the Federation identified more than ₦14.8 billion in procurement and financial irregularities.
This concern has further raised questions about how public funds are being converted into roads, farm inputs and food-security outcomes.
The findings are contained in the 2024 Annual Report on Non-compliance, Volume II, which documented breaches of Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act, Financial Regulations and constitutional provisions by the ministry.
The largest case involves the ₦10.54 billion Ketu–Epe–Itoikin Road and Bridge project in Lagos State, awarded to HMF Construction Limited.
According to the audit, the ministry commenced construction without carrying out an Environmental Impact and Social Assessment (EISA) or feasibility studies.
“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security did not conduct Environmental Impact and Social Assessment (EISA) and feasibility studies before the commencement of the Construction of the Ketu–Epe–Itoikin Road,” the report stated.
Notably,the studies are intended to identify environmental, engineering, financial and social risks before a major project begins, even as their absence meant that problems discovered during construction, including utility-pole relocation, additional excavation and changes to drainage arrangements, were not adequately reflected in the original project estimates.
As a result, the project subsequently suffered major changes in scope and cost before being abandoned after its 24-month contractual period had expired, according to the audit.
The Advocate Times reports that the public project-monitoring platform, Eyemark, provides another indication of the problem.
Its July 2026 record lists an Epe–Ketu–Itoikin road project under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security with a ₦3.40 billion appropriation, but records its implementation status as “Not Started.”
A separate earlier record for completion of the same road and bridge project also shows it as not started.
The procurement concerns extend beyond infrastructure, as the audit shows that the ministry submitted 14 seedling procurement estimates totalling ₦2.23 billion to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
Following a value-for-money review, the BPP reduced the approved amount to ₦1.89 billion. A value-for-money review is essentially a check to determine whether government is paying a reasonable amount for the goods or services being procured.
Despite the BPP’s reduction, the Auditor-General said the ministry presented higher contract figures for payment.
The audit report stated: “Contrary to the review and approval of BPP, the Ministry presented inflated contract figures…”
This finding becomes more significant when viewed against Nigeria’s wider food-supply problem.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says Nigeria imported ₦16 trillion worth of food between 2021 and 2024, more than twice its food export earnings of ₦7 trillion. FAO says the resulting food trade deficit reflects the country’s weak domestic food self-sufficiency.
FAO also reported in July 2026 that 6.4 million people in northeast Nigeria were facing food insecurity, with insecurity, economic pressures, inflation and climate shocks disrupting agricultural production and access to food.
As this makes the reported failures in the procurement and distribution of agricultural inputs particularly important, the money allocated for seeds and other farm-support programmes is expected to help farmers increase production, but weak controls can reduce the number of farmers reached and the value generated from the spending.
The audit further identified ₦280.65 million in seed and agricultural-kit procurement where the ministry’s distribution process allegedly bypassed official store records.
It hinted that interviews with field officers reportedly showed that beneficiary selection was influenced by lawmakers rather than objective criteria.
“The interviews with the Ministry’s field officers revealed that the selection of beneficiaries was influenced by Senators and members of the House of Representatives, rather than being guided by objective criteria identifying legitimate farmers,” it stated.
The ministry also failed to provide auditors with documents relating to ₦1.53 billion in contracts, according to the report.
Another ₦294.62 million was transferred into commercial bank accounts outside the prescribed Treasury framework, while a ₦19.38 million ginger-seed payment lacked documented evidence of production or delivery.
The Auditor-General has consequently directed the ministry’s Permanent Secretary to provide explanations to the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committees, recover funds that were unverified or improperly disbursed and apply disciplinary measures where misconduct is established.
However, the cumulative picture is less about one failed project than a chain of control failures, from project planning and procurement approval to payment, record-keeping and beneficiary selection.
For a ministry responsible for improving food production, the report shows that the economic cost of such failures goes beyond the figures appearing in an audit report.
