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By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives has launched a sweeping investigation into the management of more than N12 trillion injected into Nigeria’s Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) over the past seven years.

At the inauguration of an Ad-Hoc Committee on the Operations, Funding and Performance of DFIs, lawmakers signalled their intention to unravel how vast sums of public money—earmarked for industrialisation, agriculture, small business growth and infrastructure—have been used.

The Committee, Chairman, Rep. Chidi Obetta,  said the panel will scrutinise inflows from government capital injections, budgetary allocations, bond issuances, concessional loans, and donor funds channelled to institutions such as the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, NEXIM Bank, Infrastructure Bank, NIRSAL, and the Development Bank of Nigeria.

“Together, let us work to ensure that our Development Finance Institutions become truly effective instruments for inclusive growth, poverty reduction, and sustainable national development. They must become models of transparency, efficiency, and impact—institutions that truly empower Nigerians and help lay the foundation for a stronger, more resilient economy,” Obetta said.

Preliminary reports suggest that inflows to the DFIs exceed N12 trillion, though this figure remains subject to verification. The committee is expected to obtain audited records from each institution to determine how funds were applied and whether they reached the intended beneficiaries.

The intervention of the House follows mounting public concern over the transparency, efficiency and impact of the DFIs, which were established to close funding gaps left by commercial banks and to drive inclusive growth.

The committee will examine whether the DFIs’ investments have translated into tangible economic benefits—such as job creation, industrial expansion, and improved livelihoods—and whether systems for loan recovery and fund recycling are effective.

The probe, according to Rep. Obeta, is not intended as a punitive measure but as a fact-finding and reform-driven exercise aimed at strengthening the institutions’ capacity and accountability.

The committee will engage widely with stakeholders, including DFI management teams, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Finance, development partners, industry experts and project beneficiaries.

Members of the committee have pledged to approach the assignment with transparency, fairness and patriotism, stressing that Nigerians expect both answers and action.

The House leadership said the investigation marks part of its broader commitment to ensuring that public funds deliver measurable results and that the country’s financial institutions function as true engines of sustainable development.

Inaugurating the committee, Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, lamented the poor performance of Nigeria’s Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), as he said that many of them have failed to achieve the objectives for which they were established despite receiving trillions of naira in public funds.

Speaker Abbas, who was represented by the Deputy House Leader, Repq. Halims Abdullahi, said it had become clear that the DFIs have not significantly improved Nigeria’s Multidimensional Poverty Index, and their impact on the performance of small and medium enterprises “leaves much to be desired.”

According to him, these institutions, which were supposed to fill the financing gaps left by commercial banks, have instead been bogged down by lack of transparency, political interference, and an unwillingness to innovate or take on more risk-driven ventures.

“In a period when economic reforms are being pursued to ensure more inclusive and shared growth, the inadequacies of these development finance institutions have become untenable, That is why this review is both timely and necessary,” Abbas said.

The Speaker explained that the House set up the Ad-Hoc Committee to conduct a detailed and objective review of the DFIs’ operations, funding, and performance over the past seven years.

He said the investigation was expected to clarify how these institutions function, how they utilise public funds, and whether they have delivered on their core mandates of stimulating growth in key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, exports, and small businesses.

Speaker Abbas emphasised that given the critical role DFIs play in national development, all public funds allocated to them must be managed with discipline, transparency, and a clear sense of purpose.

He therefore cautioned that the House will no longer support future budgetary allocations to any institution that fails to show proof of responsible financial conduct, sound risk management, and measurable economic impact.

“The era of funding without clear justification, public benefit, or performance evaluation must come to an end. This committee must insist that every development finance institution operating with public funds demonstrates measurable results that directly support national economic growth, job creation, and enterprise development. Any institution that cannot justify its allocation through verifiable outcomes will be subject to legislative intervention,” he said.

He also noted that public financing intended for development must be accessible to the productive sectors and citizens it was created to serve, warning against the diversion of funds to questionable ventures or their entrapment in bureaucratic bottlenecks.

“This investigation will ensure that funding frameworks are transparent, fair, and structured to reach productive sectors rather than support dubious ventures or remain trapped in bureaucracy,” he added.

Abbas further stated that the “findings of this investigation will help the House improve the performance of development finance institutions and expand their impact on the national economy”.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, pledged full cooperation with the Ad-Hoc Committee, as he assured that the bank will provide every necessary support to ensure the success of the probe.

Represented by a Director of the bank, Ibrahim Hassan, Cardoso said the committee’s work comes at a crucial time in Nigeria’s economic development and expressed optimism that its findings would help reposition the DFIs to deliver greater impact in line with their founding mandates.

He explained that the Central Bank of Nigeria is responsible for the regulation and supervision of the nation’s development finance institutions, including the Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Infrastructure Bank, Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), and the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).

According to him, the CBN conducts routine examinations of these institutions to ensure that they comply with laid down prudential standards and maintain sound financial conditions.

The supervision, he said, focuses on key indicators such as capital adequacy, asset quality, management efficiency, liquidity, and the level of non-performing loans, among others, in order to safeguard their stability and effectiveness.

Hassan commended the 10th House for setting up the Ad-Hoc Committee, noting that the decision reflects the commitment of the National Assembly to ensuring that development finance institutions fulfil their mandates of promoting inclusive economic growth.

He assured the lawmakers that the CBN will offer every necessary technical and institutional support to enable the committee carry out its work effectively and produce outcomes that would strengthen the development finance system.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), QQAbba Bello, expressed strong support for the investigation, describing it as timely and essential to repositioning the institutions for economic growth.

He noted that Nigeria’s economy is currently at a crossroads, making it imperative for the country’s development finance institutions to deliver on their mandates more effectively.

According to him, DFIs such as NEXIM Bank are meant to serve as engines that power growth, create jobs, and expand economic opportunities across sectors.

“I am very pleased that this assignment has been given to this committee by the House of Representatives. The DFIs in Nigeria should be the engines that will propel the growth of the economy. Nigeria’s economy is at a crossroads now, and the performance and operations of these institutions have become very critical”, Bello said.

He also stressed the importance of measuring the performance of DFIs not only by their internal metrics but by their tangible contributions to job creation, industrial expansion, and foreign exchange earnings.

“What matters most is our impact on the economy, the jobs we help create, the industries we support, and the export proceeds we generate for the country,” he added.

He assured the committee that NEXIM Bank would provide all necessary information and documentation required to aid its investigation.