Reps amend MOFI Establishment Act to strengthen mandate

The House of Representatives has stated that it became necessary to amend the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) in order to reposition it to discharge its responsibilities effectively. The Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Rep. James Abiodun Faleke stated this in his address at a public hearing on a Bill to restructure and strengthen MOFI’s […]

The House of Representatives has stated that it became necessary to amend the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) in order to reposition it to discharge its responsibilities effectively.

The Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Rep. James Abiodun Faleke stated this in his address at a public hearing on a Bill to restructure and strengthen MOFI’s operations, held jointly by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance and Committee on Public Assets on Tuesday.

The Bill was titled, “A Bill For An Act To Repeal The Ministry Of Finance Incorporated Act, CAP. M 229, Laws Of The Federation Of Nigeria, 2004 And Any enents Thereto And Enact The Ministry Of Finance Incorporated (Establishment ETC) And For Related Matters (HB. 986)”.

According to him, the MOFI Act, Cap. M229 LFN 2004 had its origin with the establishment of MOFI as corporate sole in 1959 to manage federal government investments, estates, easements and rights, acquire holding, and dispose property and to also secure payment of loans by entering into contracts, sign, seal, execute and perfect documents for loan repayment by the government.

He added, “The Minister vested property in public officers or authorities by order, transferring ownership without conveyance or transfer. However, failed to meet up with its mandates due to lack of adequate organizational structure and effectiveness.

“Owing to the obvious lapses and lacunae in the 1959, MOFI underwent strategic restructuring in 2023, transforming from a passive assets holder into a proactive investment institution modeled after global leaders like Temasek Holdings. Currently it manages key investment portfolios including energy, infrastructure, financial services and emerging industries”.

In his submission, the MOFI Board Chairman, who was a former minister of finance and minister of national planning at different times, Dr Shamsuddeen Usman, sheds more light on the Nigeria’s assets vis-a-vis its loans.

He noted that there has always been a lot of discussion about how much the federal government is owing.

He lamented that many of the federal government assets set up with various loans have not been properly accounted for or yielding dividends.

Usman stated that, MOFI has since its establishment despite challenges, been active in tracking the nation’s assets as well as federal government’s investments in line with its establishment Act.

The Board Chairman who was also a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) however noted that, a lot of the assets are not performing in line with their purpose.

He said, “Many of the loans were taken to set up assets that are not properly accounted for. They are not accounted for, they are not paying any dividends, they are not even in the books of some of the organizations that have been set up.And we’ve been actually tracking all of this”.