The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has set a target of empowering over 3,000 public sector leaders for improved service delivery in the next decade.

The foundation aimed to achieve this through its AIG Public Leaders Programme (PLP).

Disclosing this at the graduation of the third cohort of the AIG Public Leaders programme, the foundation said this marks a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to improve the performance of the public servants.

This event marked the culmination of six months of intensive training for 68 public servants conducted by the faculty of the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

Throughout the programme, all participants underwent rigorous training, culminating in the development of capstone projects aimed at driving transformation within their ministries, departments, and agencies. These projects, now in the implementation phase, showcase the participants’ commitment to effecting positive change within their Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

The Chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede congratulated the graduating class, noting that these graduates are a step towards building an Africa that can extricate itself from the depths of underdevelopment with capable and empowered public servants.

This understanding, he said, drives the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation’s unwavering commitment to partnering with the public service to effect lasting change.

He expressed his gratitude to the Head of the Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan for her unwavering support of the foundation’s initiatives, noting that it has helped foster a robust collaboration within the service and drive better results.

Delivering the keynote address at the ceremony, Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Professor Olatunji Olaopa, emphasised the importance of transforming Nigeria’s public sector to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world.

Olaopa noted: “Key to the transformation of the public sector is the emergence of change agents who are motivated, competent, and sufficiently incentivised to push the change management process forward.

“The AIG Public Leaders Programme plays a fundamental role in producing world-class graduates with the urgently needed dose of innovativeness and administrative capacity to become change managers ready to tackle the critical task of guiding the public sector towards genuine service and innovation,” he said.

The Class of 2023 comprised high-potential public sector leaders from across Africa, including an additional international participant from Kenya.

To date, the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has trained over 700 public servants through various capacity-building initiatives.