The Federal Government on Friday, inaugurated the Board of Directors of the Bank of Agriculture, charging them to reposition the bank as the lead vehicle for transforming agricultural financing and driving food security nationwide.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, said the board must rebuild the institution into a stronger development finance bank that can accelerate food security, expand farmers’ access to finance, create jobs, and advance President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“You are not being invited to preside over an institution. You are being charged to rebuild one,” Kyari told the new board. “The work of renewal has already begun; your task is to give it scale and permanence. And from today there is no old guard and no new arrivals: one Board, one management, one institution, one mandate.”
Kyari described the Bank of Agriculture as Nigeria’s foremost agricultural development finance institution, established to finance farmers, cooperatives, processors, and agribusinesses. He traced its origins to 1972 in Kaduna as the Nigerian Agricultural Bank, noting that while its structure has changed, its mandate remains the same.
He disclosed that President Tinubu has approved the recapitalisation of the bank, calling it the boldest commitment to agricultural finance in Nigeria’s history. The restructuring is being supervised by the Bureau of Public Enterprises, with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria as shareholders.
Kyari urged the board to build on reforms already started by the bank’s management under MD/CEO Ayodeji Sotinrin. He said the bank has begun a comprehensive digital transformation of loan appraisal, disbursement, and recovery to ensure faster, transparent, and efficient credit access for farmers.
The minister said the Bank of Agriculture is leading the Renewed Hope National Agricultural Mechanization Programme, described as Africa’s largest mechanisation initiative, designed to serve over one million farmers annually.
He charged the board to integrate the bank’s operations with key Federal Government initiatives, including the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones, the IFAD-supported Value Chain Development Programme, and the World Bank-financed AGROW programme, to expand financing across value chains.
“The days of fragmented intervention are behind us,” Kyari said.
Kyari assured stakeholders that the board would provide strategic oversight anchored on integrity, transparency, accountability, professionalism, and good governance while working with management, shareholders, and development partners to improve capacity and efficiency.
He stressed that success would be measured not just by financial performance, but by impact in empowering farmers, supporting agribusinesses, creating jobs, and improving livelihoods.
On conduct, he said: “You assume it under a Board Charter that is clear and exacting. To the Board as a body, it gives the work of governance: set strategy, approve the risk appetite, hold management to account, and leave the daily running of the Bank to management. On each of you individually, it places duties no colleague can carry for you: declare and avoid conflicts of interest, keep the Bank’s information confidential, and attest to the Directors’ Code of Conduct every year.”
Kyari added that the Ministry will convene a retreat in the coming weeks for the board to study the Charter and be sensitised on their duties and operating environment.
“Mr Chairman, distinguished directors, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, I hereby inaugurate the Board of Directors of the Bank of Agriculture Limited. I congratulate you once again and wish you a successful and consequential tenure,” he concluded.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Abdullahi, said the board’s job is not to manage a ready-made institution but to rebuild it under the Renewed Hope Agenda, where food security is a national priority.
He expressed confidence that Nigeria can become an agricultural powerhouse if the bank delivers financing to genuine farmers and value chain operators in production, processing, and transportation.
“The market is available. What is left is for you to establish strong processes and procedures that will ensure the bank delivers financing to genuine farmers and value chain actors,” Abdullahi said.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Olaniyi Ogunbiyi, described the bank as strategic to Nigeria’s agricultural transformation. He said it must provide accessible, affordable, and innovative financial services to farmers, agribusinesses, cooperatives, women, youths, and other value chain actors.
Ogunbiyi reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to work with the board and management to improve service delivery and ensure financing reaches smallholder farmers and emerging agribusinesses.
Responding on behalf of the board, Chairman Alhaji Muhammad Babangida called the Bank of Agriculture “the nation’s foremost agricultural development finance institution” with a critical role in expanding access to finance for farmers, cooperatives, agribusinesses, and rural entrepreneurs.
“At a time when food security, economic diversification and inclusive growth remain national priorities, the importance of the institution cannot be overstated,” Babangida said.
He said the inauguration “marks a renewed commitment to strengthening the Bank for Nigeria’s agricultural transformation.” The board, he added, is committed to strategic oversight anchored on integrity, transparency, accountability, and good governance.
“Our success will be measured not only by financial performance, but by real impact in empowering farmers, supporting agribusinesses and improving livelihoods,” he said. He thanked President Tinubu for the appointment and the ministers for their leadership on the agricultural agenda.
Members of the newly inaugurated board are: Alhaji Muhammad Babangida, Chairman; Mr. Ayodeji Oludare Sotinrin, Managing Director and CEO; Hajiya Fatima Garba, Executive Director, Corporate Services; Mr. Hakeem Oluwatosin Salami, Executive Director, Operations and Information Technology; Hajiya Ka’amuna Ibrahim Khadi, Executive Director, Risk Management; and Non-Executive Directors Alhaji Rabiu Idris Funtua, Mr. Kpochi Donald Iorgyer, Alhaji Aminu Malami Mohammed, Mr. Oladejo Odunuga, and Mr. Charles Amuchienwa.
