Chairman of the Board of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, has raised concerns over the poor state of Federal Government-owned assets, many of which he said are not generating any returns despite being established with public funds and loans.

Speaking at a public hearing on the bill to repeal and re-enact the MOFI Act, Usman told members of the Joint House of Representatives Committees on Finance and Public Assets that numerous assets under the federal government’s ownership are either unaccounted for or completely missing from official records.

The proposed legislation is titled: “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Ministry of Finance Incorporated Act, Cap. M229, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and Enact the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (Establishment, Etc.) Bill, and for Related Matters (HB. 986).”

“Many of these assets are not in the books of the organisations set up to manage them. They are not paying dividends, and we’ve been tracking them,” he said.

Usman, a former Minister of Finance, noted that while there is frequent public discourse about Nigeria’s debt profile, little attention is paid to the asset side of the balance sheet.

“People say the federal government is broke. But that’s looking at only one side of the balance sheet. If we consider the total assets including those acquired with loans Nigeria’s net worth is still significant,” Usman added.

Managing Director of MOFI, Dr. Armstrong Takang, said the agency has significantly grown the asset base under its management from N1.25 trillion in early 2023 to over N18 trillion through structural reforms, transparency initiatives, and better financial oversight.

According to him, limitations persist due to outdated legal frameworks and the absence of formal mechanisms to account for non-corporate assets such as ports and critical infrastructure.

He said: “Over the past two years, we’ve verified 20 corporate assets, all of which have undergone three years of audited financial reviews. These alone account for over N8 trillion in value,”.

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, James Faleke, said the amendment of the MOFI Act has become necessary to reposition the agency and enable it to effectively discharge its responsibilities.

Faleke explained that MOFI, established in 1959 as a corporate sole to manage federal government investments and properties, has failed to meet its mandate due to structural deficiencies and operational inefficiencies.

“Owing to these gaps, MOFI underwent strategic restructuring in 2023, transforming from a passive asset holder into a proactive investment institution modeled after global benchmarks like Singapore’s Temasek Holdings.

Today, it manages portfolios across energy, infrastructure, financial services, and emerging industries.

Earlier, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, stressed the importance of amending the MOFI Act to ensure compliance with extant laws and financial regulations.

The Speaker represented by lawmaker representing Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode, Edo State, Billy Osawaru, noted that MOFI was originally empowered to manage commercial transactions and assets on behalf of the federal government, but over the years, the agency had failed to align its operations with best practices.

“The proposed amendment is critical to repositioning MOFI and bringing it in line with Nigeria’s current economic realities and fiscal governance demands,” the Speaker said.