The
AIG Public Leaders Programme (PLP), offered by the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation
and the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, is an executive
education programme that provides high-potential African public servants the
opportunity to acquire the skills needed
to create cultures of excellence, effectiveness, and integrity in their
organisations.
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The
2022 PLP class, which included its first international participant from South
Africa, was made up of 52 public
servants, carefully selected from government ministries, departments, and
agencies. Delivered through a blend of rigorous online and in-person classes,
the programme equipped the 52 programme graduates with the knowledge, tools and
conceptual frameworks they need to meet the challenges ofpublic sector
leadership in a fast changing world. After months of intense and demanding
sessions, engaging participants through classroom discussions, simulations,
practical exercises and a capstone project, the closing ceremony of the
programme was held on March 15, 2023, in Abuja.
In
his welcome address, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede
Foundation, stated that as part of its multi-billion Naira committment to
facilitate the transformation of the public sector, the Aig-Imoukhuede
Foundation was committed to building a
new generation of public sector leaders to drive change across their varous
organisations. He said that the Foundation’s partnership with the Blavatnik
School of Government, University of Oxford was a means of ensuring that these
future public sector leaders had access to world class training, which would
give them the skills and knowledge they need to be effective leaders. He congratulated the graduates and enjoined
them to use the learnings they had gained from the programme in their various
places of work. He also urged the private sector to recognise the important
role the public sector plays in national development and encouraged more
support for the reforms of the public sector.
In
his keynote address, Professor Attahiru Jega spoke on “Public Sector
Leadership in Times of Crisis”. He noted that, generally, in the
contemporary world, times of crisis are challenging for everyone, including
citizens and especially those in leadership positions. He said that while
managing and/or resolving these crises requires certain leadership skill sets,
character traits, and thinking abilities, many governments, including Nigeria,
have not given adequate attention to recruiting, training, and mentoring
capable executive employees to become good leaders. He hoped that the
activities of organisations, such as the AIG-Imoukhuede Foundation, may serve
to sensitise our governments and begin to make them alive to their
responsibilities.
Dignitaries
present at the closing ceremony include Mr. Thami Mseleku, High Commissioner of
South Africa to the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Dr. Herbert Wigwe, Group
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Corporation; ‘Dere Awosika,
Chairwoman, Access Bank Plc; Ambassador Adeyemi Dipeolu, Special Adviser to the
President on economic matters in the office of the Vice President and the
keynote speaker, Professor Attahiru Jega, Former Vice Chancellor, Bayero
University, Kano. Also notably present were serving permanent secretaries and
directors across different ministries and parastatals.
The
AIG Public Leaders Programme is a seven-week executive education programme for
African public servants, delivered via synchronous and asynchronous methods
with two live teaching weeks in Abuja. Participants, all of whom are offered
fully funded scholarships to attend the programme,are taught a range of vital
leadership skills, conceptual frameworks, and practical tools that will empower
them to be more effective as they lead their departments and organisations
through the challenges of an increasingly complex and dynamic world.
Applications
for the 2023 AIG Public Leaders Programme are open until 17th April, 2023.
Notes
to the Editor:
For
media inquiries, please contact:
communication@aigafrica.org
or +234(0) 808 5716 788
