Looking closely at the 2021 Audit Report, The Guardian found that the Ministry of Agriculture was expected to get N15,000,000 back that was supposed to be sold as tractors. Surprisingly, the audit report showed that the ministry failed to recover any money, leaving the tractor sales division with a huge deficit of N15,999,999.
Kaduna Commissioner for Agriculture, Murtala Dabo, diverted questions when asked about the alleged inability to recoup the N15,999,999 loan from tractor sales, emphasizing that the problem predates the current government.
The Commissioner continued to deny any knowledge of a tractor loan in spite of clarifications on the ministry's accountability under the Freedom of Information Act. The Commissioner advised this report to seek clarifications from the Auditor General.
The commissioner questioned, "What is Guardian's business coming here to ask me? " in response to queries from our correspondent. You claimed to have seen it in the report of the Auditor General; thus, contact the Auditor General.
Since then, not a single tractor has been purchased by this ministry (agriculture). In other words, it existed before the Governor Uba Sani Administration. Go to the Auditor General and acquire any clarifications you require. I'm not involved with this at all.
In the meantime, The Guardian's evaluation of tractor prices as of 2021 found that a single tractor costs N15,000,000, which is in line with the audit's projected collecting amount.
The substantial disparity of 15.9 million between expected revenue and zero recovery, however, highlights the financial impact on the ministry's operations and calls into question the veracity of the reported data.
According to a ministry of agriculture insider who wished to remain anonymous, he is not aware of any tractor sales that are being made on loan. Furthermore, the insider thought it was ludicrous to lend out a single tractor.
Similarly, Kabir Salihu, the Kaduna Chapter Chairman of the Maize Farmers Association, denied knowing of any tractor sales that were lent to maize farmers in 2021.
The Seed Poverty Eradication Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society's State Coordinator for Kaduna, Abdulrahman Ali Musa, added that he is unaware of any farmers who will be loaned tractors in 2021.
Musa, who also worked as a large-scale farmer, emphasized the difficulties that farmers encounter as a result of a shortage of farming inputs. He added that they are unable to farm during the dry season due to a lack of inputs.
In the meantime, Mohmmad Numbu, the head of the Kaduna chapter of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, could not be reached by phone for comment regarding the tractor loan from the Ministry of Agriculture in 2021.