Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika
The Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr. Armstrong Takang has expressed readiness to support the growth and expansion of Nigerian airlines.
This is just as he said MOFI would like to explore ways in which it can provide financing and investment for airlines to expand their fleets, enhance their devices and compete on the global stage.
He stated this during a visit to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika in his office in Abuja as contained in a statement by Nawani Abdullahad, Assistant Director, Press.
According to him, the investment and collaboration would bring about mutual benefits for both MOFI and the Ministry of Aviation.
Dr Armstrong recalled that MOFI was used as a Special Purpose Vehicle across the economic sector, focused on holding federal government investments, which it had been using to invest in commercial entities for over 60 years.
However, he added that MOFI was not structured to deliver on the mandate that was expected of it, noting that its peers established at the same time and restructured to reflect current realities, had gone on to make major social and economic impacts in their respective countries.
Many of them, he said, had become global brands for investing beyond their home countries’ borders.
Dr. Armstrong noted that, in line with the approval of Mr President to create a comprehensive National Asset Register (NAR) by aggregating, profiling and managing all national assets and investments, the NAR would be harnessed to strengthen the nation’s fiscal and economic realities and the optimization of our investments and assets, noting that the development and modernization of the country’s airports was crucial for socio economic development.
While congratulating the Minister on his recent appointment as a member of the MOFI Governing Council, he said, this demonstrated Mr President’s trust in him given his vast experience in driving governance to achieve desirous outcomes, which would be valuable for MOFI in delivering significant value to its key stakeholders and its portfolio companies.
Earlier, the Minister of Aviation Senator Hadi Sirika had said a collaboration between the Aviation Ministry and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) was paramount in the Civil Aviation part of the Nigerian economy.
The Minister expressed his excitement that there was a structure for MOFI, and it has fallen into the right hand to get the mandate of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria delivered and effected appropriately.
He recalled that during the Nation’s Transition Committee period, there was an extensive discussion as to what contribution the aviation sector could make, and it was considered to add up to 5% to the GDP of Nigeria.
Sirika added that, a road map was created for the Civil Aviation industry to create a robust sector that would be financially healthy and which would also make aviation the most preferred means of transportation.
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