The inaugural meeting of the Leadership Council of Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation held on Friday, April 29, 2022, under the chairmanship of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The Foundation was incorporated in 2020 to consolidate the philanthropic activities of Aigboje and Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, including the activities of entities such as the Africa Initiative for Governance and the Aig-Imoukhuede Institute.

This meeting marked the dissolution of the former Advisory Panel of the Africa Initiative of Governance, which had been in place since 2017 and inauguration of the new Leadership Council, to provide strategic direction and leadership to the board of trustees of the Foundation in an advisory capacity.

Giving his opening remarks at the meeting, Obasanjo praised the objectives of the Foundation and the quality of people who had been called to serve on the Council.

He said: “This group is made up entirely of high achievers and I can say, without reservation, that I have never before been called to chair a group of this calibre. Such a gathering of people who have a track record of getting things done is a challenge because expectations will be high about the results that we produce. It presents an opportunity for us to work collectively to effect real change that will benefit our nation.”

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, expressed deep appreciation to members of the Leadership Council for their presence at the inaugural meeting and their support of the work of the Foundation.

He said: “I thank the members of the Leadership Council for agreeing to serve and for their commitment to improving the country’s public sector. Our theory of change is that an efficient and effective public sector will lead to a better Nigeria, with better socio-economic outcomes for all citizens.

“We are therefore committed to working with the civil service, supporting its reform efforts with funding and technical assistance and building the capacity of the public sector workforce. We also seek to achieve improved access to quality primary healthcare.”

Also present at the meeting were Mrs. Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, Executive Vice-Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation and Dr. Herbert Wigwe, Trustee of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation.

The meeting culminated in a private lunch with the founders, publishers and chairpersons of leading media organisations including Ms Kadaria Ahmed of RadioNow 95.3FM, Mr. Frank Aigbogun of Business Day, Prince Sam Amuka-Pemu of Vanguard Media, Mrs. Angela Emuwa of Punch Newspaper, Mrs. Maiden Ibru and Mr. Toke Ibru of The Guardian, Mr. John Momoh of Channels TV and Ms Ijeoma Nwaogwugwu of Arise News/This Day.

Over lunch, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede shared the Foundation’s vision to create a public sector that will be an enabler for the country’s growth and development and discussed the impact that the Foundation entities have started to make on the country. This includes funding and driving the development of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP) 2017-2020, which outlined the country’s civil service reform priorities and provided technical assistance for the development of the successor plan, which will run until 2025.

The Foundation has also been supporting some of the key priority areas identified in the plans including digitalising the work of the civil service. The digitalisation of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service is being funded by the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation and will be completed by the first quarter of 2023.

The methodology adopted for the project is currently being used as a template to fully digitalise all Federal MDAs in Nigeria and the result will be a fully digitalised civil service. Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede called on the media to partner with the Foundation and its Leadership Council, as they worked with the civil service to restore it to its former glory, so that it could provide goods and services that would lead to better outcomes for all Nigerians.

Members of the Council include experts and professionals with a wealth of experience in public policy, governance, academia, journalism, and healthcare.

In addition to former President Obasanjo, council members are: Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi (Chair, Editorial Board of ThisDay Newspapers); Dr. Akudo Anyanwu (Vice President, Texas Biomedical Research Institute); Dr. Dere Awosika, MFR (former Permanent Secretary and Chairperson Access Bank Plc); Mrs. Yemisi Ayeni (former Managing Director Shell Nigeria Closed Pension Fund Administrator); Mr. Ernest Ebi (former Deputy Governor Central Bank of Nigeria); Dr. Uzodinma Iweala (award winning author and CEO Africa Centre New York); Prof. Attahiru Jega (Emeritus Professor and former Chairman INEC); Dr. Omobola Johnson (former Minister of Communication Technology and Senior Partner TLcom Capital); Mr. Tunde Kehinde (Founder/CEO Lidya); Mrs. Fola Laoye (Founder/CEO Iwosan Investments Ltd); Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN (Chairman NGX Exchange and Partner Dikko and Mahmoud); Dr. Andrew Nevin (Chief Economist & Partner PWC); Mr. Ken Offori-Atta (Ghanaian Minister for Finance and Economic Planning); Prof. Enase Okonedo (Vice-Chancellor, Pan Atlantic University); Dr. Zainab Usman (Director, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Washington) and Dr. Jeya Wilson (former Chair, Independent Oversight Committee World Health Organisation).