The Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) has debunked reports that N150bn is missing from its coffers.
In a statement sent to Qed.ng on Saturday, NIRSAL described the allegations as “ridiculous invention”.
“Once again, our attention has been drawn to a story published by a certain First News Online titled ‘EXPOSED: Alleged N150bn fraud rocks NIRSAL,'” the statement read.
“Whilst NIRSAL Plc has adopted the strategy of having to intermittently make clarifications about public misconceptions regarding its mandate, chiefly, its status as a non-bank and therefore a not-funds-disbursing financial institution, it has also had to contend with the publication of outright lies by willful blackmailers and detractors, ad-nauseum.”
The statement clarified that NIRSAL Plc, as a wholly-owned investee company of the Central Bank of Nigeria, does not keep physical capital nor give out loans. It added that the company’s total capital base is N72.5billion which is way less than the alleged missing money.
It said, “NIRSAL Plc is neither funded by Government appropriation nor does it draw its operational subventions from the CBN.
“NIRSAL Plc’s total capital base is N72.5billion. Perhaps more importantly, this capital is technical, not physical and is held within the CBN system, permanently invested in FGN Bonds, Treasury Bills and other money market investments.”
It added, “From the foregoing clarification, the fabricators of the N150 billion fraud story may wish to explain the suction point at which that humongous sum, which, by the way, is exactly double the company’s capital base, was taken out from the system. Which business will have double its capital base ‘fraudulently’ removed, yet remain a very successful going concern. Incredible!”
The company further said in the statement that it will institute legal action against the online newspaper.
