ABUJA — In a staggering revelation that has laid bare the hollowed-out state of Nigeria’s food security agenda, the Director-General of a key federal agricultural institution has informed lawmakers that his staff have not received a single kobo in salaries since the beginning of 2024.
Appearing before a National Assembly joint committee for a 2026 budget defence session on Wednesday, February 11, the embattled DG—whose agency is tasked with the critical mission of training Nigerian farmers in modern agricultural best practices—painted a picture of total institutional paralysis under the current administration.
The “Zero Kobo” Reality
The DG, visibly frustrated as he addressed the Joint Committee on Agricultural Production and Services, dropped a bombshell that left the chambers in temporary silence. He claimed that despite the Federal Government’s loud declarations of a “State of Emergency” on food security, his institution has been completely cut off from the national treasury.
“We have not received any salary from the Tinubu government since 2024,” the DG lamented. “Beyond that, we have not received a penny to fund our actual budget or overheads. How are we expected to educate farmers on best practices when we cannot even pay the people meant to do the teaching? We are effectively grounded.”
The testimony suggests a massive disconnect in the “Renewed Hope” agenda: while billions are captured in the national budget for agriculture, the actual “release” of these funds to training colleges and research institutes has stopped entirely for some MDAs.
“Renewed Hopelessness”—Nigerians Blast the Presidency
As news of the DG’s testimony filtered out of the National Assembly, Nigerians reacted with a mix of fury and bitter irony. For many, the “starving” of an agricultural agency is the ultimate proof that the government’s food security plans are mere rhetoric.
- “Planning for Famine”: “How can you tell us you want to fix food prices when the people who train the farmers are on a two-year fast?” queried Ibrahim Musa, a political analyst in Abuja. “This is not ‘Renewed Hope’; this is ‘Renewed Hopelessness.’ If the government cannot pay its own experts, they shouldn’t act surprised when a bag of rice hits ₦100,000.”
- “The Budget of Fantasies”: Critics on X (formerly Twitter) blasted the Office of the Accountant-General, accusing the administration of prioritizing “frivolous” expenditures over essential services. “They have money for new planes and SUVs for lawmakers, but zero for agricultural education. It shows you exactly where their heart is,” one viral post read.
- “Institutional Murder”:Â Many Nigerians argued that the government is deliberately killing off research and training institutes. “By the time they are done, there will be no experts left in the civil service to tell them the truth,” another resident noted.
Legislative Standoff
The committee chairs, Sen. Saliu Mustapha and Hon. Bello Kaoje, expressed deep concern but also issued a stern warning: any agency that cannot account for past “allocations”—even if they claim never to have received them—risks being given a “zero budget” for 2026.
The DG’s counter-argument remains simple and devastating: “You cannot account for what was never given.”
As of Wednesday, February 18, 2026, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has not issued a formal rebuttal to the DG’s claims. For the millions of Nigerian farmers looking for guidance in a collapsing economy, the news that their “teachers” are themselves hungry is the most ominous sign yet of a looming national crisis.
