The House of Representatives is seeking to establish a National Public Assets Management Commission to oversee the registration, valuation, management and disposal of Federal Government assets.
The proposed legislation, introduced on the floor of the House last week, covers assets held by ministries, departments and agencies, as well as government-owned enterprises.
It would require public institutions to register their property in a central national database.
The bill would also require the institutions to disclose existing debts and other claims against their assets and obtain the commission’s approval before selling, leasing, granting concessions over or otherwise disposing of public property.
Sponsored by Lagos lawmakers Ademorin Kuye and Lanre Okunlola, the National Public Assets Management Commission Bill, 2026, seeks to address gaps in public asset management by establishing a central authority to coordinate records and monitor the value, condition and utilisation of government property.
A copy of the bill obtained exclusively by Sunday PUNCH shows that the proposed law would give the commission’s authority precedence where its provisions conflict with existing laws governing asset management by institutions such as the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority.
Although these institutions would retain their specialised statutory responsibilities, they would be required to operate within the commission’s framework for asset registration, valuation, reporting and approval.
Section 16 empowers the proposed commission to demand comprehensive asset inventories from government institutions, inspect their premises and records, issue binding directives to address non-compliance, and refer persistent violations to the President and the National Assembly.
The bill further provides that the commission’s directives would take precedence over conflicting instructions, policies or internal rules issued by the institutions concerned.
However, the commission would not directly sell or dispose of government property.
Such transactions would remain the responsibility of the relevant custodial institutions, subject to the commission’s prior approval and oversight.
Central register for federal assets
A major feature of the bill is the proposed establishment of a National Public Assets Register, which would serve as the central database for Federal Government property and investments.
The register would contain details of each asset, including its location, ownership, acquisition cost, current value, condition, maintenance history, legal status, revenue generated and outstanding financial obligations.
Each registered asset would also be assigned a Unique Public Asset Identification Number to facilitate tracking throughout its useful life.
Under the proposed legislation, existing public institutions would have 12 months from the commencement of the law to submit comprehensive inventories of their assets.
Newly acquired assets would have to be registered within 90 days of acquisition, completion, transfer of ownership or assumption of control.
The register would incorporate digital documentation, geographical information systems, electronic title records, photographs, valuation reports and transaction histories.
Section 25 provides for public access to non-sensitive information through an online portal, while allowing information relating to national security, defence, intelligence and protected commercial interests to be withheld.
The commission would also publish an annual State of Public Assets Report detailing the total value of federal assets, the financial obligations attached to them and their net unencumbered value.
Institutions covered by the law would be required to certify annually that their asset records were complete and accurate.
Stricter conditions for asset sales
The bill proposes tighter controls on the sale, leasing, concession and monetisation of public assets.
It would require independent valuation, competitive processes, value-for-money assessments and consideration of the public interest before transactions could proceed.
Section 77 stipulates that no public asset should be disposed of below its independently assessed market value, except where the law expressly permits an exception.
Material terms of monetisation contracts would also be disclosed through a public asset transaction portal, subject to restrictions necessary to protect legally classified information.
The commission would monitor compliance with such contracts, direct corrective action and recommend termination where there was a material breach or a public-interest concern.
The proposed law further provides that assets placed under leases or concessions should revert to Federal Government ownership when the agreements expire or are terminated.
Crackdown on scrap sales, missing assets
To curb the unauthorised removal and undervaluation of government property, the bill proposes a national policy governing the scrapping of obsolete vehicles, machinery, industrial equipment, electronic devices and other public assets.
No asset could be classified as scrap without a technical assessment, verification of its identity and an estimate of its recoverable value.
Idle or underutilised assets would not automatically qualify for scrapping.
They would first have to be assessed for possible repair, redeployment, leasing, concession or disposal.
Section 82 requires scrap to be independently valued and sold through a competitive process, with records of its quantity, weight or volume uploaded to the national register.
It also provides that no scrap should leave a government site without a Scrap Movement Certificate specifying the quantity, buyer, vehicle and destination.
The bill proposes fines of at least three times the assessed value of the affected asset or scrap for individuals convicted of pilfering public assets, in addition to imprisonment for a term to be prescribed by the National Assembly, or both.
Corporate bodies, including government-owned enterprises and private contractors, would face fines of at least five times the assessed value, alongside possible suspension or disqualification from future public asset disposal transactions.
Where public officers, security personnel or contractors are implicated, the bill provides for the maximum applicable fine, disciplinary referral in the case of public officers, and forfeiture of benefits derived from the offence.
Officials face sanctions for concealment, unauthorised sales
The proposed legislation identifies failure to register public assets, concealment, false declarations, fraudulent valuation, unauthorised disposal, conflicts of interest and obstruction of inspections as offences.
It also provides for individual liability where directors or principal officers of corporate bodies consent to, connive in or negligently facilitate an offence.
Section 127 specifically targets custodial institutions that knowingly withhold asset registration, resist lawful directives or undertake monetisation and disposal transactions without the required approval.
The commission would be empowered to impose administrative sanctions on non-compliant institutions and institute proceedings to recover losses arising from offences under the proposed law.
The bill also provides for whistleblower protection for those who report concealment, mismanagement or unlawful disposal of public assets, alongside a mechanism for receiving and investigating public complaints.
Recovered assets brought under proposed framework
The proposed commission would maintain a Recovered Assets Register covering property seized, forfeited, confiscated or recovered under the law.
The register would include assets held by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.
However, the bill preserves the investigative and prosecutorial functions of the EFCC and ICPC, stating that the commission would not interfere with investigations, prosecutions or court-supervised processes.
Assets awaiting final forfeiture decisions would have their legal status recorded, while court orders would prevail where they conflicted with the proposed law’s requirements concerning custody, preservation or disposal.
The bill also provides for annual reports to the National Assembly on public assets and compliance by custodial institutions, while preserving the constitutional functions of the Auditor-General for the Federation.
If enacted, the legislation would establish a central oversight framework for federal public assets and subject existing institutions to common standards of registration, valuation and accountability.
Its effectiveness, however, would depend on implementation, the accuracy of asset records, enforcement of its provisions and the commission’s ability to coordinate institutions with overlapping responsibilities.