Our Bank Of Agriculture Is Currently Suffering — Malam Sabo Nanono

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Malam Sabo ono has said the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) is still suffering because no effort is in place to recapitalize it despite several pronouncements in the past. Malam Sabo disclosed this as he spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja. According to him, it is sad to see a bank that should help Nigerian farmers suffering with no solution in sight. He added that it is high time we realized that the agricultural sector is a vital contributor to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). His words, “The plan was never beyond newspaper publications. I think there was no serious attempt and personally I think that is not the best approach. “The best approach is to look at it properly and reorganise the bank and reposition it. ” If you are to sell the Bank of Agriculture now, you have to look at some portfolios. Its life assets and dead assets and see the balance between the two. “Can you afford at that point to go public, and are you going to privatise it? That means selling it at a go or is it going to be partial investment? “If the private sector is keying into buying it, obviously they have to look at the portfolio investment of the bank and to me it is not a comfortable position now to go into the financial market for investment.”