FG Targets Higher Revenue from GOEs

The Federal Government has rolled out tougher measures to extract more value from Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) as it looks to plug budget gaps and place public finances on a firmer footing.

At the centre of the new drive is a performance scorecard developed by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) to assess how well federal enterprises are run.

The tool measures operational efficiency and adherence to corporate governance standards and is already in use. Officials say it will determine whether government investments in particular entities should be strengthened, restructured or phased out.

To reinforce accountability, MOFI has also created the MOFI Excellence Awards, an annual scheme that recognises GOEs that post strong results and comply fully with governance and financial rules under the scorecard system.

Although the initiative was announced last year, the first complete round of assessments and awards is scheduled to take place this year as part of an ongoing effort to drive higher performance across the government’s business portfolio.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made it clear that the era of weak returns from public enterprises is coming to an end.
While presenting the 2025 budget to the National Assembly, he warned that poor performance 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, directing the leadership of government enterprises to meet their revenue targets and signalling that closer monitoring would now be the norm.

To back up that warning, Tinubu announced a sweeping digitisation of government revenue systems.

The plan covers standardised electronic collections, interoperable payment platforms, automated reconciliation, data-driven risk analysis and real-time dashboards that allow authorities to track performance as it happens.

The objective, according to the President, is to block revenue leakages, boost compliance and ensure that all funds due to government are promptly paid into official accounts.

A Presidency source told The Nation that the renewed scrutiny of GOEs is a core part of the administration’s strategy to narrow Nigeria’s fiscal deficit.

“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.

MOFI is playing a central role in the reforms, with a mandate not only to improve the efficiency and profitability of federal enterprises but also to steer government investments into sectors that can deliver stronger long-term returns for the economy.