The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has inaugurated the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI).
It could be recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved membership of the Board last month.
In a statement issued on Friday, Stephen Kilebi, Director (Press & Public Relations), said that while inaugurating the board members in his office on Friday in Abuja, Edun said that with the inauguration of the Board of Directors of MOFI, a high-performance culture, reputation, integrity, as well as productivity, were expected from members to enable them to deliver on their mandate.
According to Edun, MOFI was set out to become a national and world-class organisation among other holders of sovereign assets that should uphold transparency, accountability in the management of government funds, adding that the board members were carefully selected to develop MOFI in line with world-class standards.
Edun said, “Their mandate as holders and husbandry of Nigerian assets is to optimise those assets and do the best they can firstly to enumerate those assets so that we are sure of what Nigeria owns, physical and other assets that have been built up over time, and also to maximise returns on those assets.
“These are what the country owns apart from what it earns from export revenue, oil revenue, and other government revenues. These assets can also earn returns on investments to add to the budget and foreign exchange reserve under the care of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI).”
While responding to a question on how to meet up with the £100 trillion target in the nation’s economy, Edun explained that the figure should be interrogated with rigorous and robust analysis to ascertain the evaluation of the assets owned by Nigeria.
He added that the figures are even more significant than the current estimate, not to talk of the fact that the country should comfortably reach £100 trillion in the next decade in the value of those assets.
The Minister highlighted the priority areas of MOFI to include: diversifying MOFI’s investments across different industries, sectors and asset classes as well as making the company more resilient, leveraging technology, artificial intelligence, improve portfolio monitoring, risk management, transparency, diligent oversight to maximise returns on investments.
While congratulating the newly inaugurated Board members of MOFI, Edun noted that there was a need to collaborate and cooperate with other National and World funds bodies so as to function more effectively, adding that he was confident in their ability to deliver.
Earlier, the Chairman of the inaugurated Board, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, while speaking on behalf of the members, appreciated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Wale Edun for the opportunity given to them to serve, noting that they were aware of the huge expectations about MOFI.
He pledged that they would do their very best not just for the current administration but for the country as a whole.
Dr. Usman said, “We will do our work with the greatest level of transparency, firstly the enumeration and maximisation of value because we are expected to actually extract as much value from those assets as possible for Nigerians, issues of diversification and leveraging technology, diligent oversight as well as productivity.
“We will set up the highest level of corporate governance so that we become an example to other companies we are managing.”
Usman pledged their commitment to make significant contributions to the board.
The Board of Directors of Ministry of Finance Incorporated comprised the Chairman, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, MD/CEO, Dr Armstrong Takang, and eight other members: Tajudeen Datti Ahmed, Mr Femi Ogunseinde, Mrs Oluwakemi Owonubi, Hajia Fatima Nana Mede, Mr Ike Chioke, Ms Chantelle Abdul, Mr Alheri Nyako, and Mr Bolaji Rafiu-Elelu.
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