….as 69 senior public servants to drive transformative reforms

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – THe Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, today celebrated the graduation of Cohort 5 of the AIG Public Leaders Programme (AIG PLP).

Describing it as “an important milestone in our efforts to build a new generation of capable, reform-driven public sector leaders committed to strengthening governance and service delivery across the continent.”

The closing ceremony, held in Abuja, brought together senior government officials, private sector leaders, development partners, alumni, and faculty.

Meanwhile, the 69 graduating participants are from Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Interestingly, the six-month intensive executive education programme led to students developing tangible reform projects with the aim of addressing existing institutional challenges in their Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs.

With this graduation, the AIG PLP alumni network has grown to over 300+ senior public servants from seven African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Cameroon, Zambia and Tanzania.

These leaders form a powerful cross-continental community dedicated to peer learning, collaboration, accountability, and sustained institutional change, proving that public sector transformation thrives on collective action and shared conviction.

The AIG Public Leaders Programme was aunched in 2021, basically, to equip high-potential public servants with strategic leadership skills, policy expertise, and practical tools to navigate complexity, negotiate in the public interest, leverage digital innovation for governance, reinforce institutional integrity, and deliver measurable improvements in citizens’ lives.

Delivered through a blended model of virtual sessions and an intensive residential module (recently completed in Lagos), the programme culminates in a reform project: a hands-on initiative designed to institutionalise excellence, eliminate bottlenecks, and scale impact within participants’ home institutions.

The keynote address was delivered by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, as he urged the graduates to focus on actionable reform.

He said: “The greatest asset of Africa is Africans. If we understand the true meaning of service, Africa will have a different story to tell.

“Leadership in public service must focus on long-term impact rather than short-term gains, urging officials to ensure their decisions benefit future generations.

“Africa would not overcome challenges such as underdevelopment, insecurity and economic difficulties without addressing inefficiencies within public institutions.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CFR, stressed the programme’s strategic importance, saying, “Africa’s future depends on the quality of leadership within its public institutions.

“Transforming public institutions demands leaders who deeply understand systems, embrace necessary trade-offs, and drive reform from within.

“Each member of this graduating cohort represents a deliberate investment in stronger, more accountable institutions and tangible, lasting outcomes for citizens across Africa. The real work, execution at scale, begins now.”

Since inception, AIG PLP alumni have launched hundreds of reform initiatives, tackling inefficiencies in service delivery, strengthening regulatory frameworks, enhancing compliance and accountability, and improving citizen-facing outcomes.

Many have advanced to higher leadership roles, amplifying the programme’s ripple effect on public sector performance.

Cohort 5’s graduation reinforces the Foundation’s long-term vision: to cultivate a critical mass of ethical, competent public leaders who view institutions not as platforms for personal gain, but as engines of national and continental progress.