Finance ministry amendment bill scales second reading

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved for second reading a bill to repeal the Ministry of Finance Incorporated Act, 1959, and any amendments thereto, and to enact the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (Establishment) Act, 2023, along with related matters.

The bill, sponsored by Ademorin Kuye, the member representing Shomolu Federal Constituency, Lagos State, aims to ensure effective ownership, accountability, and management of federal government assets.

MOFI, established in 1959 by an Act of Parliament, serves as the sole custodian of Federal Government assets across the country.

Kuye noted that since its establishment, the agency has failed to meet public expectations, citing widespread “pillage, brigandage, abandonment, diversion, misappropriation, and abuse of federal assets throughout the country.”
The Lagos lawmaker argued for new legislation, stating that the 1959 Act, with only six sections, lacks the capacity to enable the corporation to fulfil its modern mandate.

“The new Act introduces a comprehensive framework of 49 sections to govern the conduct, management, and use of Federal Government assets,” Kuye said.

Presenting the general principles of the bill, Kuye explained that once passed into law, the proposed legislation would revitalise MOFI by establishing a robust institutional framework to enhance its corporate governance and organisational structure.
“This bill will provide a strong legal foundation for the emergence of a truly national corporation capable of managing, accounting for, and optimising over N300 trillion worth of Federal Government assets. It will grant MOFI certain powers and ensure that the board is properly incentivised,” he added.

The bill’s objectives, outlined in Section 3, include empowering MOFI to identify and enumerate all Federal Government assets and investments, ensure their productivity and sustainability, develop and implement a national asset management strategy, act as the investment vehicle for government assets, and advise the Federal Government on asset and investment matters.

Additionally, the bill proposes the creation of a national asset register for MOFI, which will provide an accurate record of government assets and liabilities, their value, depreciation, location, and components.

Kuye stressed that the bill would ensure efficient control, management, utilisation, and disposal of government assets, as directed by the council.

In its miscellaneous provisions, the bill grants the Minister of Finance powers to issue guidelines and policies for implementing MOFI’s investment objectives. It also specifies actions for legal proceedings, Federal High Court jurisdiction, and MOFI’s authority to set regulations for managing government assets.

The lawmaker highlighted the benefits of the bill, including increased revenue generation, reduced financial leakages, and enhanced value of the national asset portfolio.

“Currently, MOFI has only N18 trillion registered as the value of assets in its portfolio. With the proposed national asset register, a comprehensive census of Federal Government assets, including holdings in multilateral agencies, could raise this figure to an estimated N350 trillion, significantly bolstering the economy,” Kuye said.