On Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari charged the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) to grow its assets under management from its current value of 18 trillion Naira to at least 100 trillion Naira within the next decade.
The charge was given at the launch of the new MOFI and inauguration of the Governing Council and Board of Directors in State House, Abuja, prior to the commencement of the Federal Executive Council meeting.
The President tasked the new board to act as a clearinghouse for the management of federal government investments and assets in accordance with global best practices, with the goal of ensuring that these investments deliver superior risk-adjusted returns to the government.
He also called on the MOFI to collaborate with other government agencies to create a consolidated national asset register and convert these assets into cashflow-generating entities to support the government’s revenue drive, and to partner with the government to use government-owned investments and assets to meet the government’s social and economic obligations to the citizens.
To achieve this, President Buhari directed the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, to commence the process of amending the MOFI Act and other legislation to further institutionalize this reform and ensure that the MOFI is restructured and repositioned to become a trusted custodian and manager of federal government investments and assets.
According to the President, the restructuring of MOFI is significant as it will help identify the government’s assets and optimize them.
He also highlighted that the MOFI Act of 1959, now Cap. 229, Laws of the Federation, 2004, empowers MOFI to enter into commercial transactions on behalf of the federal government and that MOFI has been used as a special purpose vehicle for investments in different sectors over the past 64 years.
The President emphasized that MOFI was not previously structured to deliver on its mandate, but with the new governance structure, which includes a Governing Council headed by the President, a Board of Directors led by former Minister of Finance Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, and an Executive Management Team headed by Dr. Armstrong Takang, MOFI is now equipped to fulfill its mandate.
President Buhari reminded members of the Governing Council and Board of Directors that his administration has high expectations for them and tasked ministers who are members to create an enabling environment for the creation of a National Asset Register.
The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning thanked President Buhari for his support and approvals that made the restructuring and repositioning of MOFI possible and assured him that the Council members and Board will ensure that the new MOFI delivers on its mandates.
