His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Aminu Umar-Sadiq as the substantive Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).
Umar-Sadiq’s appointment on merit follows the expiration of the tenure of the erstwhile MD, Mr. Uche Orji, who became MD on October 2, 2012, with his tenure expiring on the September 30, 2022, after serving two five-year terms.
Hitherto an Executive Director and Head of Infrastructure in NSIA, unassuming Aminu Umar-Sadiq brings impeccable professionalism, discipline and notable focus to his new responsibility. To ensure both stability and progression as he assumes office he certainly needs these leadership qualities.
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Moreso, he is not the kind of professional who stays tamely at the receiving end of received policy prescriptions. He covets knowledge-driven innovations, proactive engagement with stake-holders and policy makers in fluid operating environments with sure-footed action. And he comes very much prepared to his position.
The new NSIA boss Aminu Umar-Sadiq has more than 15 years of extensive experience in the financial serves sector spanning investment banking, private equity and public finance management. In addition to his erstwhile role as an Executive Director and Infrastructure Head at the NSIA, he serves on the Boards of the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN), NSIA LUTH Cancer Centre (NLCC) and the Multipurpose Industrial Platform Limited (MIPL) as Non-Executive Director.
He commenced his professional career in Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley and has since worked in global investment firms such as Denham Capital Management and Société Générale. He is Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow (ATLF) and also Mandela Washington Fellow (MWF).
Prior to his appointment as an Executive Director at the NSIA, Aminu was the Deputy Head, Nigeria Infrastructure Fund at the NSIA where he led the conceptualization, development, execution, and management of several critical domestic infrastructure projects across various sectors.
More specifically, the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund is an investment fund focused on the actualisation of five strategic nationwide projects in the transportation and power sectors. He has a vast experience in investment and infrastructure industry.
He has received many accolades and awards in recognition of his excellence in the banking and investment profession. He has also worked on several projects including Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, an import substitution program for the delivery of 1 million high quality, lower cost to farmers at lower cost metric tons of fertilizer.
Always hungering after self-improvement, Mr. Umar-Sadiq attended various top-notch academic institutions. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Engineering Sciences from University of Oxford (Saint John’s College), Oxford, United Kingdom (UK). He has travelled widely and has undergone training from some of the most highly regarded and prestigious institutions in the world.
To transform NSIA and align it with the development imperatives of the 21st century certainly requires an organisational cultural transformation, especially in a milieu that has long been driven by traditional metrics. More, it requires bold, game-changing leadership. Unquestionably, Aminu Umar-Sadiq is ready and raring to go.