FMARD staff to face court charges on fruad

Six staff of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) may be soon subjected to face court charges on the account of vehicles diversion and fund misappropriations.

Food Farm News checks revealed that some aggrieved staff of the department of Farm Inputs Support Services in the FMARD had reported the unfaithful act to an anti graft Agency that had since June made arrest of six staff for questioning.

Findings revealed that the personalities involved in the unfaithful act may soon be charged to court according to a reliable source who said they had diverted the ultility vehicles and funds meant for food security of the nation into their own personal use.

Our source said that the case is with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission ( ICPC) and about six staff of farm input support services are under investigation and would soon be charged to court.

The department in the FMARD is responsible for farm inputs like fertilizer according to our source who added that they usually register marketers or blenders, and even ascertain any agrochemical potency on crops before being accepted into agricultural system of the country.

Findings revealed that ultility vehicles given by the Nigeria Custom Service ( NCS) for logistics delivery of this department were all diverted to their personal use with huge sum of Naira as they would some be charged to court.

Our source said that six staff of Farm Input Support were in the morning around 9 a.m of June1 picked by personel of ICPC for questioning as they would soon be charged to course.

According to our source “some of the farm input support services staff are under investigation.The department is the former department of fertilizer before it was changed to the Farm Input Support Services during the time of Dr. Adewunmi Adesina. They are the people responsible for the farm inputs, like if you want to go into fertilizer business or you want to register as marketer or blender, it is through them that you will register and become a business person in the fertilizer industry. So if you want to register an agrochemical or you brought it newly for agricultural practices, they are the people that will handle the issue as they are to test the agrochemicals on some crops before being allowed to enter into the country's agricultural system. But somehow along the line, a petition was written to ICPC based on vehicles and fund diversion for personal gains"