By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief & Ezra Ukanwa

The newly re-oganised Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) is to work out a rapid aviation sector development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Aviation.

The Chief Executive Officer of MOFI, Dr. Armstrong Takang, disclosed this at a meeting with the Aviation Minister, Mr. Hadi Sirika, in Abuja, yesterday.

According to the MOFI boss, his organisation woul mobilise massive investments for the crucial overhaul of the country’s aviation sector.

Dr Takang urged Sirika to assist in actualising President Mohammadu Buhari’s agenda of assets, investments managements and optimal risk-adjusted returns, following recent approval to create a National Asset Register, NAR, by the president.

While stating that the Ministry of Aviation represents one of the biggest supervisors of Nigeria’s assets through its sister agencies, Dr Takang reiterated the need for sustainable partnership to support sundry economic activities in the airports.

Vanguard reports that the MOFI team was mandated by President Mohammed Buhari to create a comprehensive National Asset Register (NAR) by aggregating, profiling, and managing all national assets and investments.

As a result, the MOFI team further emphasized the imperativeness for capturing of all assets of the Ministry of Aviation and added to NAR.

He said: “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 will be harnessed to strengthen our fiscal and economic realities and the optimization of our investments and assets.

“As a result, it is key that all assets of the Ministry of Aviation are captured and added to the NAR and we would appreciate your assistance in actualizing our mandate, as this is crucial in line with the vision of Mr. President of properly managing Federal Government assets and investments and ensuring that FGN derives optimal risk-adjusted returns from its investments and assets.

“We also believe that the development and modernization of the country’s airports are crucial for socio-economic development. While the Ministry has made positive improvements, we believe that more capital investment is required to attract more passengers, cargo movement, and facilitate trade.

“MOFI is interested in supporting the Ministry’s efforts in airport development and modernization, including upgrading existing infrastructure and constructing new airports where necessary. In addition, we believe that introducing innovative aviation technologies can enhance safety, efficiency, and customer experience in the aviation sector.

“We would like to collaborate with all relevant agencies and companies to facilitate the use of such technologies and make them available to the wider Nigerian aviation industry. This will help to effectively support various economic activities, such as tourism, agriculture, government, and business travelers in all airports.

“Further, Honourable Minister, we have a strong interest in supporting the growth and expansion of Nigerian airlines. We would like to explore ways in which we can provide financing and investment for airlines to expand their fleets, enhance their services, and compete on the global stage.

“We are aware of the Ministry’s efforts to launch the Nigeria Air and establish the Nigerian Aviation Leasing Company, and we will provide all the support we can to these ventures.”

Responding, Sirika commended the new board of MOFI and gave assurances that MOFI would be included in the national aviation roadmap in no distant time.

According to him, we have the concession of the airport, we have the airlines, we have the cargo, we have the MRO, we have the leading company and those are the legs of the roadmap which after the press, we will go through them and ensure that MOFI is integral to these plans. He concluded by saying that the Ministry remains committed to ensuring that president Buhari’s policy