The Ministry of Finance Incorporated has revealed that the Federal Government’s investment assets, valued at N38.3 trillion, are currently undergoing audit and reform aimed at enhancing transparency and improving corporate governance across public enterprises.

MOFI Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Armstrong Takang, disclosed this on Wednesday in Lagos during the launch of the Nigerian Communications Commission’s 2025 Guidelines on Corporate Governance.

Takang noted that, for years, Nigeria lacked an accurate and comprehensive record of its public assets.

According to him, most Nigerians were unaware of what assets the country owned, where they were located, or how they were performing.

“When we started this process, the records showed only N1.5 trillion in value for government-owned assets, but after assessing just 20 of those assets, we identified N38.3 trillion in net asset value,” Takang said.

He noted that many of these public enterprises had not paid dividends in decades, with some completely abandoned or running far below capacity.

Takang pointed to once-promising institutions like Nigerian Airways, Ajaokuta Steel, and Delta Steel as examples of government-owned companies that eventually collapsed.

“We spent billions of dollars to establish these companies. Yet today, some of them are nothing more than ghost towns. No value is coming back to the Nigerian people,” he said.

Takang identified weak corporate governance as a key factor behind the long-term failure of several public enterprises, citing faulty systems and poor management structures.

He explained that many managers of government-owned companies operated without accountability, transparency, or clearly defined responsibilities.

“Those who were in charge of these companies often behaved as if they were not answerable to anyone. There was no transparency, no audited financials, no performance reporting and nobody was held responsible when things went wrong, ” he said.

Takang stated that MOFI is developing a comprehensive asset registry to track all investment assets owned by the federal government.

He explained that the registry will provide detailed information on each asset—what is owned, its location, financial value, management, and performance status.

“This is not just for record-keeping, It is about transparency and accountability. Every Nigerian deserves to know what the government owns and what returns we are getting from those investments,” he said