AIG-Imoukhuede Foundation Celebrates Successful Conclusion of AIG Public Leaders Programme Residential Week

The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation recently concluded the residential week of its landmark programme for public servants, the AIG Public Leaders Programme (PLP). The PLP, offered by the Foundation in partnership with the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government, is an executive education programme that provides high-potential African public servants with the opportunity to acquire the skills needed to create cultures of excellence, effectiveness, and integrity in their organisations. The seven-week programme is delivered via synchronous and asynchronous methods with two live sessions in Abuja.

This third class of the programme, comprising sixty-eight carefully selected public servants working in different government ministries, departments, and agencies were brought together for a one-week immersive and interactive learning experience, which featured lectures, workshops, case studies, and simulations led by the faculty from the University of Oxford.

As part of the programme, special in-conversation sessions were held featuring experts in the field of public policy and governance, including Dr. Joe Abah, Country Director at DAI and former Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms; Mr Andrew David Adejo, Perm Sec, Federal Ministry of Education; Professor Tunji Olaopa, incoming Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission; and Professor Bolaji Owasanoye SAN, Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission. These sessions delved into crucial issues affecting the public sector and helped participants gain clarity on the roles they can play in the transformation of the service.

Speaking to participants during the week, the Chairman of the Foundation, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede (CFR), stated that it was the Foundation’s mission to facilitate the development of a public sector in Africa that is capable of providing critical goods and services, such as healthcare and education to citizens, to enable them live decent lives, just like in developed economies. He said that no matter the charitable efforts of philanthropists, the only way to provide these goods and services on a sustainable basis and have a transformative effect on citizens, is to have a well-functioning public sector, run by capable public servants. He encouraged programme participants to recognise the profound impact they can have as public servants and embrace every opportunity to build a better public sector for the benefit of the people.   

In her address, Executive Vice-Chair, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede stated that the Foundation was investing a lot to build the capacity of programme participants and therefore she had high expectations that they would use their learnings from the programme to accomplish remarkable feats in their respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies. She enjoined the public servants to play the role of secret weapons embedded in the public service to drive transformative change from within.

The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has successfully trained 101 public servants through the AIG Public Leaders Programme. This achievement is part of the Foundation's overarching commitment to train over 30,000 public servants over the next three decades.