The Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) has restructured and fully taken control of the federal government 40 per cent equity holding in the 11 privatised successor electricity distribution companies (DISCos) of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
Recall that the minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun, had in an Order dated January 10, had mandated MOFI to take over management of the federal government’s assets in the successor companies from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)
The announcement of the resumption of the formal takeover of the ownership, control and management of government equity and assets in all the DISCOs was contained in a statement on Monday.
Managing director/CEO of Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr Amstrong Takang said federal governments have been poorly managed, underutilised and grossly unprofitable under the watch of those previously responsible for the management of the privatised assets.
The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) as the secretariat of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), was the statutory entity tasked to provide support to MOFI in giving effect to the NCP’s decision. BPE had held shares in the 11 power distribution companies (Discos) on behalf of the federal government for the last 10 years after the sales were completed in 2013, until the recent order by the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy that transferred the power of attorney to MOFI.
“This arose from the recognition that FGN assets across practically all economic sectors nominally valued at very significant sums were largely moribund or grossly underutilised and poorly managed,” the MOFI boss said in a statement on Monday.
He said MOFI would adopt a new, value-driven strategic direction in aggregating and managing FGN assets.
“MOFI would take on an expanded and more active role, not to directly take over and run the corporate entities created around these FG assets but rather to work with its co-promoters and co-shareholders to develop and implement corporate policies and practices that ensure that these assets are operated for maximum value. This revitalised strategy is underpinned by a three-point agenda of establishing and confirming state ownership, professionalising state ownership and strategic resource mobilisation and investment,” Takang said in the statement yesterday.
Takang said in the past 24 months, and particularly since the amendment of the MOFI Act by the Finance Act, 2023, MOFI has been reformed and restructured from a Unit in the Office of the Accountant-General to a full-fledged public sector (FGN) asset management corporation.
He said MOFI’s resumption of its rights of management of the FG’s 40 per cent shareholding in the eleven electricity distribution companies and the various equity stakes in related energy sector companies is an essential element of the consolidation. “It will drive operating efficiency, best corporate governance practices and ultimately maximise the value derived from these electricity assets, in alignment with President Bola Ahmed”
He however extended MOFI’s gratitude to the BPE for its stewardship of the shares it held on the behalf of MOFI, adding that “As a reformed and active entity, MOFI is taking significant steps to ensure that these assets deliver full value to the country. We look forward to collaborating with our key stakeholders and, through our concerted efforts, making a tangible impact in contributing to a thriving, resilient and growing Nigeria.”
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