The Managing Director and Chief Executive Office of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq, has disclosed that the Authority has committed $500 million to domestic infrastructure while also enabling third-party investments of over $1 billion.
He said this at an investigative hearing held on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, by the ad hoc committee constituted by the House of Representatives to investigate the activities of the NSIA since its inception.
He explained that the NSIA belongs to the three tiers of government consisting of the federal government, state government, and local government, including the FCT and its Area Councils.
He further reiterated that the NSIA has a robust infrastructure investment portfolio covering several critical sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, financial infrastructure, technology, innovation, and power.
Additionally, he disclosed that the authority has also developed institutions and platforms to improve the financial market ecosystem in the country.
He said the authority developed a 10 MW solar power project that was expected to facilitate the creation of over 500 direct and indirect jobs.
Furthermore, through its participation in the housing sector, over 13,000 affordable housing units were under construction in different states of the Federation.
Within the agricultural sector, the NSIA has supported over 236,000 farmers in different agricultural projects. Under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (‘PFI’), the Authority has facilitated the production of 3.8 million metric tonnes of fertiliser for farmers nationwide, with 72 blending plants currently in operation across Nigeria, he added.
Umar-Sadiq also stated that the net assets of the Authority grew from N156 billion in 2013 to N1.117 trillion at the end of 2022 and have remained profitable over the last 10 years of operation, with yearly audits performed by independent auditors.
He also mentioned that the net contribution has grown from the initial $1 billion to the current net asset value of $2.27 billion as of December 2022.
Also speaking, Lateef Shittu, the representative of the Director General of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), said that local governments were notable stakeholders who were accounted for together with the state government and represented a significant holding of the fund.
Shittu affirmed the collaboration of the Governors Forum with the NSIA, saying they were satisfied with the level of interactions and were clear about the objectives of the Authority in relation to its projects and impact on the nation.
He disclosed that in 2022, the governors requested a presentation on the operations of the NSIA from the management, adding that “we are satisfied with the presentation and what is being done”.
He reiterated that “every single project executed by the NSIA is located within a local government, so they are beneficiaries of the NSIA projects.”
The chairman of the committee, Hon. Ademorin Kuye, said the objective of the investigation was to ensure that the statutory provisions of the law establishing the authority were adhered to.
He stated that the House wants to be able to have answers to questions from Nigerians on how the funds of the agency are being managed, adding that if the need arises, the committee would visit sites of projects being handled by the Authority to ensure value for money.
The committee commended management and staff for the detailed responses that were provided, which alludes to their high level of governance and transparency.
