MOFI launches excellence awards to raise governance standards in state-owned enterprises

The federal government has taken a major step towards strengthening the governance and performance of its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with the formal launch of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) Excellence Awards, an initiative authorities say will set a new benchmark for transparency, accountability and institutional performance across its public assets.

Speaking at the formal announcement and inauguration of the awards panel in Abuja, Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, said the awards would help drive higher standards across the federal government’s portfolio and embed a culture of good governance.

Edun described the event as “the beginning of the journey towards the inaugural MOFI Excellence Awards, scheduled to take place in 2026,” noting that it was the first initiative dedicated to recognising governance excellence in government-owned enterprises.

He emphasised the significance of the newly inaugurated independent judging panel, whose membership includes governance-focused institutions such as the Financial Reporting Council, the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, and the Chartered Institute of Directors. According to him, “your mandate is clear: to uphold integrity, impartiality and diligence at every step, so that the eventual outcomes command public trust and respect.”

Highlighting the purpose of the awards, Edun stressed that the programme was “not about applause for its own sake.” Instead, it is designed to shine a spotlight on boards and management teams that demonstrate exemplary transparency, accountability and performance in managing public assets.

The initiative, he said, aligns with MOFI’s broader mandate as the Federal Government’s asset manager and builds on the Corporate Governance Scorecard introduced earlier in the year. That scorecard, he noted, is “not just a bureaucratic exercise, ‘it’s a test,’ meant to hold our enterprises accountable to measurable standards.”

Edun said the awards formed part of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places governance reform and institutional strengthening at the heart of national economic transformation. He urged members of the panel to approach their task with independence and transparency. “We must get it right,” he said. “This is an open, independent process, and it must be seen by all to be merit-based and free of favouritism.”

Armstrong Takang, MOFI’s Managing Director/CEO, said the establishment of the awards marked a transition “from policy commitments to tangible, measurable outcomes.” He noted that over the past year MOFI had pursued an ambitious reform agenda, including the launch of the Corporate Governance Scorecard and a pilot implementation involving more than half of MOFI’s portfolio companies. According to him, the scorecard “fundamentally redefines governance as a strategic asset, driving transparency, accountability, and long-term value creation.”

Takang stressed that MOFI had applied these governance standards internally as well, strengthening its own board effectiveness, ethics policies and risk management frameworks. “MOFI is not just an asset manager; we are a partner and a participant in this collective effort,” he said. The new awards, he explained, would not only recognise top-performing SOEs but also incentivise improvement across the board.

“Without strong institutions, there is no strong economy,” he said, adding that better-governed SOEs reduce fiscal risks, improve service delivery and attract private capital—key objectives of the government’s broader economic agenda.

The awards will draw from detailed scorecard assessments, validated by independent consultants, before the panel makes final determinations. Takang described the process as “evidence-based, not a popularity contest,” and said it was designed to shift perceptions of government-owned enterprises from opaque and inefficient to credible and investable.

He also dismissed the belief that only the private sector can drive business growth, calling it a fallacy. He emphasised that governments worldwide play essential roles in national development.

He cited China and successful state-owned enterprises like Singapore Airlines as examples of how government participation can support economic growth alongside the private sector.

He explained that government has unique advantages, including its sovereign capacity to mobilise large amounts of capital that private firms cannot access. According to him, state-owned enterprises therefore remain vital to Nigeria’s economic progress, and that such awards would promote strong governance, accountability, and improved performance among government-owned enterprises.

Read also: FG-owned assets worth N38.3tn under MOFI audit as reforms deepen

Shamsudeen Usman, MOFI board chairman, said the launch of the awards represented “another decisive step in what can be described as a governance revolution in Nigeria’s public sector.” He praised the Minister’s leadership and the calibre of the awards panel, noting that their expertise would ensure an evaluation process that is “independent, credible, and beyond reproach.”

Usman said the awards were conceived to recognise SOEs that demonstrate exemplary governance, prudent risk management, strong ESG practices and operational excellence, while also rewarding enterprises that show significant improvement.

He said the initiative was intended to “send a clear message across the public sector that transparency, accountability and performance will be noticed and rewarded,” while also fostering healthy competition.

The board chairman further noted that the real goal was not the award ceremony itself, but the broader transformation it aims to support. “The true victory will be when Nigerian state-owned enterprises are held up as models of good governance and engines of growth,” he said, adding that the combined system of scorecards, remediation and awards would help unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s public assets.

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