NSIA Faults Oshiomole’s Missing $700m Claim, Says Funds Intact And With Yield

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) on Sunday assured Nigerians that all funds and assets managed by it remained intact and fully accounted for.

This came in reaction to an allegation by the Edo State Governor and Chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC) Ad-hoc Committee on the management of the Excess Crude Account (ECA) and related federation accounts issues, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, that the managers of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) could not account for $700 million out of the $1billion contributed for the fund.

The NSIA said not only are the funds intact, they have also been invested profitably, realising a net comprehensive income of N15.8billion in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to N505 million recorded in the 15 months ended December 31, 2013. More so, the NSIA’s accounts are audited quarterly and annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The NSIA further noted that the detailed audited financial statement for the year ended 2014 had been published on March 28, 2015, and made available on its website for the public to access, adding that the annual report was subsequently issued by the NSIA in September 2015.

Breaking down the details, the NSIA stated that the seed capital of $1 billion provided in 2012 had been managed in three different ring-fenced funds including 20 percent in stabilisation fund, 40 percent in Future Generation Fund and 40 percent in Nigeria Infrastructure Fund respectively.

It said the assets invested in each fund were detailed in the annual report.

“The NSIA states categorically that it has never been invited by the Ad-hoc Committee on the Management of Excess Crude Account proceeds and accruals of the National Economic Council (NEC) to make a submission on its operations in the first instance. Neither did it make any presentation or submission whatsoever to the Ad-hoc Committee. However, the Management of NSIA remains open and available to provide details on its operations and accounts to all its stakeholders,” a statement by the body said.

“Furthermore, the NSIA wishes to state that it has made no investment in the rail sector, even though it remains an area of interest. And, of its total commitment to the Second Niger Bridge project, only $2.2million has been disbursed for project development-related consultancy costs. In addition, N10.3billion was disbursed on early construction works on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Works. This has been addressed in previous press statement and briefings by the NSIA.

“Out of the 15 sectors of interest for the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund, the immediate areas of focus are: motorways, power, agriculture, real estate and healthcare. The Future Generations Fund invests in a diversified range of assets covering public and private equities, hedge funds and “other diversifiers” using the services of best-in-class investment managers and global fund custodians. The stabilisation fund targets the preservation of capital.”