The Federal Government has intensified efforts to raise more revenue from Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) as part of a broader fiscal strategy to curb deficits and strengthen public finances.
One of the efforts is the introduction by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) of a scorecard to track operational efficiency and compliance with corporate governance standards by the GOEs.
The scorecard is already being implemented and is expected to guide decision-making on consolidation, expansion or exit from investments.
Also, there is the MOFI Excellence Awards, an annual initiative aimed at rewarding Federal Government portfolio companies that demonstrate strong compliance and performance based on the scorecard.
Although the awards were unveiled last year, the first full round is scheduled to commence this year as part of a continuous performance improvement process.
A Presidency source told The Nation at the weekend that “what the award does is to reward compliance by portfolio companies.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had while presenting this year’s budget to the National Assembly warned that underperformance by GOEs and revenue-generating agencies would no longer be tolerated.
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“Nigeria can no longer afford leakages, inefficiencies, or underperformance in strategic agencies,” the President said. He directed the leadership of GOEs to meet their assigned revenue targets, making it clear that performance would be closely monitored going forward.
To support the directive, Tinubu announced plans to deploy comprehensive digitisation across revenue mobilisation processes, including standardised electronic collections, interoperable payment systems, automated reconciliation, data-driven risk profiling and real-time performance dashboards.
According to him, the measures are designed to seal leakages, strengthen compliance and ensure prompt remittance of revenues into government accounts.
The Presidency source told The Nation that the renewed push on GOEs is directly linked to the Tinubu administration’s determination to reduce fiscal deficit through improved revenue mobilisation.
“The goal is to make sure that we try to reduce our deficit by raising more revenue. That means that our state-owned enterprises have to perform better, have to make larger contributions to the government purse,” the source said.
Central to the strategy is the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), which is tasked with improving the performance of the GOEs while also driving strategic investments in key sectors of the economy.
