Strong indications have emerged suggesting that one of the embattled “Cardoso girls” allegedly earning 35 million naira monthly and who also doubles as Board Member of Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing System of Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Miss Daphne Dafinone outrightly countered the renewal of contracts staff pointing that the decision was to cut cost in NIRSAL.

Sources within the organization who pleaded anonymity lamented that “NIRSAL plc services may not be accessible to all farmers, particularly those in remote or hard-to-reach areas particularly now that it has cut down manpower in the State offices despite the fact that the sacked foot soldiers in the State offices are the ones who know where the farmers reside and have first hand information about all Anchor Borrowers Program (ABP) loan transactions. ”
“This will make the process of loan recovery cumbersome, deterring NIRSAL from recouping the intervention funds which will amount to waste of taxpayer money and deter farmers from participating in prospective intervention programs in the future. It will ultimately prevent NIRSAL from meeting the demands of Nigeria’s large and diverse agricultural sector.” She added.

Meanwhile the Managing Director Saad Hamidu in a leaked audio obtained by this medium assured contracts staff of renewal in 2025. This was after he resumed in September 2024.

Investigation suggested that NIRSAL most influential Board member Daphne Dafinone allegedly countered the Managing Director’s decision forcing the life saving decision to abort.

However, when Newsguide Online contacted NIRSAL’s Head of Corporate Communications Mr. Jude Nnadozie for balancing, he maintained that the contract staff were sacked because their contract had elapsed.

New Telegraph reports say Mr Cardoso, in September 2024, appointed Miss Daphne Dafinone to the board of the Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing System of Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), a non-bank financial institution owned by the CBN and charged with redefining measuring, re-pricing and sharing agribusiness-related credit risks in Nigeria.

Despite her ongoing trial, Ms Dafinone is combining her role on NIRSAL board with her controversial consultancy at the CBN.
According to Premium Times Online report, the CBN has four deputy governors: Emem Usoro (Corporate Services Directorate), Muhammad Dattijo (Economic Policy Directorate), Philip Ikeazor (Financial System Stability Directorate), and Bala Bello (Operations Directorate). However, staff members now derisively refer to Ms Balonwu and Dafinone as the fifth and sixth deputy governors of the bank, saying the two have amassed so much power to be so called.

Directors said the consultants now write memos on CBN letterheads, issuing directives even when they are unknown to the bank’s structure and organogram.

“They said they are consultants, but they have permanent offices in the bank, and their consultancies have no end dates,” one director said. “I am tempted to say they are even more influential than the deputy governors. Their offices are on the eleventh floor, just like the governor’s. The deputy governors are on the tenth floor, below the so-called consultants. They even bypass deputy governors to give direct instructions to directors.”

Another bank insider corroborated the director’s claim, saying he once overheard one of the women boasting that “if she draws a line at the bank, even the governor dare not cross it”.

“I can tell you the women are the real people running the CBN. Cardoso has become a mere figurehead,” a third director said.

*Consultant earning salary of 15 directors*

Staff members also accuse Mr Cardoso of paying the women obscene salaries. For instance, Ms Balonwu, they said, pockets N50 million naira monthly, earning more than the governor and the deputy governors. Her salary also dwarfs the combined pay of 15 directors, who earn below N3 million monthly.

On her part, Ms Dafinone earns N35 million monthly, said to be higher than the combined salaries of 10 directors.

Meanwhile, inside sources said NIRSAL is falling short of its intended purpose.
According to the source, “despite its mission to de-risk and facilitate flow of affordable finance into the agricultural industry, the organization has struggled with critical issues. This has ultimately hindered its progress. Recall that NIRSAL Plc’s former management teams have been embroiled in several corruption scandals. One notable case involved a multi-billion naira loan guaranteed by NIRSAL for three investor companies to cultivate and harvest wheat in Kano and Jigaya states. However, the loan was allegedly diverted by the companies in collusion with NIRSAL officials.”

Also speaking, another source pointed that “another instance of corruption involved the pioneer managing director, Aliyu Abdulhamed, who was linked to a case where a private consultant, Dr. Steve Ogidan, returned N1.5 billion to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to avoid conviction. The EFCC alleged that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities, while Ogidan and Abdulhamed claimed they were legitimate earnings from consultancy services. These corruption allegations led to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sacking the top three executives of NIRSAL Plc; The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Abbas Umar Masanawa, as well as two executive directors, Kennedy Nwaruh and Olatunde Akande.”

He revealed that NIRSAL’s policy somersault, high staff turnover, staff maltreatment, witch hunt and victimization, litigation battles and others have adversely impacted its ability to deliver sustainable results. Some typical examples are the cases of Olalekan Olusanya, a former Head of Internal Audit and Olusola Omole, a former Head of the Technical Coordinating Unit, who were among employees unlawfully sacked by the pioneer Managing Director of NIRSAL, Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed, for speaking against mismanagement of public funds under his administration. Also, Noel Dilli, a field officer and Coordinator of Nasarawa State, who stood against maltreatment of contract staff particularly under the previous MDs, was relieved of his contract recently. Kesman Samson, Murtala Mohamud who were coordinators of Adamawa and Gombe state offices were disengaged while some others were transferred or had there contracts terminated. The pioneer MD and his successor are alleged to have control over some of the management staff who serve their interests in the organization. This raises concerns about the organization’s effectiveness and accountability.”

These challenges, according to inside sources will continue to result in food shortages and increases in food prices particularly for staple crops like rice, maize, and wheat. Malnutrition, particularly among vulnerable groups like children, pregnant women, and the elderly will equally take precedence as a result of these challenges.