Peter Uzoho
The inaugural meeting of the Leadership Council of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation held recently under the chairmanship of a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
The Aig-Imoukhuede 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.
According to a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, the meeting marked the dissolution of the former Advisory Panel of the Africa Initiative of Governance, which had been in place since 2017 and the inauguration of the new leadership council, to provide strategic direction and leadership to the board of trustees the Foundation in an advisory capacity.
Members of the Leadership Council include experts and professionals with a wealth of experience in public policy, governance, academia, journalism, and healthcare.
In addition to Obasanjo, the statement listed other council members to include Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, Chairman, Editorial Board of THISDAY Newspapers; Dr. Akudo Anyanwu, Vice President Texas Biomedical Research Institute; Dr. Dere Awosika, former Permanent Secretary and Chairperson Access Bank Plc; Mrs. Yemisi Ayeni, former Managing Director Shell Nigeria Closed Pension Fund Administrator; and Mr. Ernest Ebi, former Deputy Governor Central Bank of Nigeria.
Others included 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 Limited; Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, Chairman NGX Exchange and Partner Dikko and Mahmoud; Dr. Andrew Nevin, Chief Economist & Partner PWC, and Mr. Ken Offori-Atta, Ghanaian Minister for Finance and Economic Planning.
Members of the council also include 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.
Giving his opening remarks at the meeting, Obasanjo was quoted to have 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.”
Chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, expressed appreciation to members of the Leadership Council for their presence at the inaugural meeting and their support of the work of the Foundation.
He added: “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, the Executive Vice- Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation and Dr. Herbert Wigwe, Trustee of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation and Group Managing Director, Access Holdings Plc.
The Chairman of the Foundation further shared its vision to create a public sector that would 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 included 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 providing technical assistance for the development of the successor plan, which would 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 the goods and services that would lead to better outcomes for all Nigerians,” he added.
