…Edun charges panel members on transparency
The Ministry of Finance (MOFI) has launched the MOFI Excellence Awards, a first-of-its-kind initiative in Nigeria aimed at recognizing excellence in corporate governance and performance across Federal Government-owned and Linked Enterprises.
The awards programme is part of MOFI’s broader reform agenda to transform how Nigeria manages its public assets and investments.
The initiative is expected to incentivize agencies to adopt best practices, spur improvements, and ensure that Nigerian State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are seen as dynamic, well-managed organisations that contribute meaningfully to national development goals.
The MOFI Corporate Governance Scorecard, launched earlier this year, will serve as the foundation for the awards, assessing performance in areas such as board effectiveness, risk management, and transparency.
Spark News reports that an independent panel has been inaugurated to oversee the awards process, which will culminate in the first MOFI Excellence Awards in 2026.
MOFI’s Managing Director and CEO, Dr Armstrong Takang, emphasized that the initiative is a key step in promoting a culture of accountability in the public sector and demonstrating Nigeria’s commitment to good governance.
Dr Takang noted that no strong economy would emerge without strong institutions, adding that strengthening the backbone of public institutions, by incentivising them to adopt best practices, would strengthen the entire nation’s economic outlook.
In the run-up to the awards next year, Takang said the process would involve the submission of documentation and data by portfolio companies required for their performance scorecard assessments and review of established criteria by an independent consultant and other experts.
According to the MD, once the technical review is completed, the consolidated findings through an evidence-based process would be presented to an Awards Panel tasked with the responsibility of providing independent oversight, by reviewing score distributions, and confirming entities that meet the threshold for recognition in each category.
“What the Excellence Awards is building is the combination of a national Corporate Governance Scorecard for SOEs (state-owned enterprises) and an independently adjudicated excellence awards programme to serve as a model for other jurisdictions and as a reference point for investors and partners looking for credible signals of reform,” he said.
To select the entities qualified for the awards, an independent panel, made up of individual experts and representatives of institutions renowned for promoting good governance, was inaugurated on Wednesday.
Members include representatives of the Financial Reporting Council, the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, the Chartered Institute of Directors, Nigeria Exchange Group and the Chartered Risk Management Institute.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who inaugurated the independent panel responsible for judging and selecting prospective honourees, charged its members to make the awards a model of transparency and impact.
Edun emphasized that the integrity of the awards depends on the integrity of the panel members, stating that their role is pivotal in ensuring a transparent and rigorous process.