The Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) has taken over management of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) from the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), drawing the curtain on nearly a decade of stewardship that transformed one of the Federal Government’s most influential agricultural programmes.
At a handover ceremony during the PFI Stakeholder Forum in Abuja on Friday, NSIA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, described the transition as a moment to “honour nearly a decade of positive impact, strategic partnership, growth, and reform.”
“The PFI is a model of what collaboration between public institutions and the private sector can achieve,” Umar-Sadiq said, pledging that the Authority would continue to pursue partnerships that deliver measurable socio-economic benefits for Nigerians.
Launched in 2016 to overhaul the fertiliser supply chain and reduce dependence on imports, the initiative has expanded domestic blending capacity from just four plants in 2016 to over 90 by July 2025. Over its lifespan under the NSIA, the PFI delivered more than 128 million bags of high-quality fertiliser to farmers nationwide, generating over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs.
“This transition is not an end, but a continuation of a success story,” Umar-Sadiq noted, recalling how the programme maintained steady supply and stable pricing despite global headwinds including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia – Ukraine conflict, foreign exchange volatility, and naira devaluation. He attributed the resilience to strong stakeholder cooperation and supply chain efficiencies that insulated the initiative from the worst of global market shocks.
Recent reforms, he added, have positioned the PFI for sustainable growth, from adopting wet-blend technology to expanding into underserved regions and deepening private sector participation.
MOFI Managing Director, Dr Armstrong Takang, commended the NSIA’s stewardship, describing its tenure as a benchmark in public–private collaboration.
