Reps Probe NAIC, Leadway, Veritas Over N1.12trn Anchor Borrowers Insurance Gaps

By Ifeyinwa Ike

The House of Representatives’ Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has launched a probe into the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Leadway Insurance, and Veritas Kapital Insurance over coverage for the N1.12 trillion Anchor Borrowers Scheme.

At an investigative hearing, the committee, chaired by Hon. Chike Okafor, examined the level of participation by key insurance providers in protecting farmers under the scheme.

A representative of the Managing Director of NAIC, Dayo Babaronti, told lawmakers that the corporation provided insurance coverage of only 109 billion naira for 207,514 farmers, representing about 12 percent of the total beneficiaries, despite initially serving as the sole insurer of the programme.

He further disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria later brought in Leadway Insurance and Veritas Kapital Insurance, although both companies were absent from the hearing.

NAIC also covered just N8.25 billion of NIRSAL’s ₦250 billion facility and N715 million for 80 hectares of ginger farms, with zero involvement in Bank of Industry’s agro scheme.

Committee Chairman, Hon Chike Okafor fflagged late NAIC submissions and farmer complaints, vowing to resummons them. He blamed poor scheme design excluding farmers for its failure,.

The investigation followed a House resolution passed in July 2025 mandating a broader probe into alleged fund diversion and accountability gaps involving ministries, departments, agencies, and financial institutions linked to the Anchor Borrowers Scheme.