Buhari Appoints Umar-Sadiq as NSIA MD

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja 

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of  Aminu Umar-Sadiq as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), operators of the nation’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).

Also approved, is the appointment of two new executive directors, Mr. Kolawole Owodunni, and Mrs. Bisi Makoju.

The appointment of Umar-Sadiq followed the expiration of the tenure of Mr. Uche Orji, whose tenure expired on September 30, 2022 after serving two terms of five years each.

Orji was appointed on October 2, 2012.

Appointed alongside Umar-Sadiq, as Executive Directors are Mr. Kolawole Owodunni, and Mrs. Bisi Makoju, Executive Director, all of the NSIA. 

Section 16(3) of the NSIA Establishment Act 2011 specifies that the Executive Nomination Committee (ENC) be constituted to begin the process of recruitment and selection process for the replacement of Orji, the MD, and the Executive Directors.

A statement released by Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, said the new chief executive officer of NSIA is currently an Executive Director and Head of Infrastructure of the company.

He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Engineering Sciences from the University of Oxford (Saint John’s College), Oxford, United Kingdom (UK), and is an Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow (ATLF), as well as Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) awards holder.

Umar-Sadiq commenced his professional career in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) focused on infrastructure and energy at Morgan Stanley Investment Bank.

He also proceeded to infrastructure-focused private equity at Denham Capital Management, all in the United Kingdom. 

He has worked on several projects including Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, an import substitution programme for the delivery of one million high-quality, lower cost to farmers at lower cost metric tons of fertiliser. 

He was also a part of the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund, an investment fund focused on the actualisation of five strategic nationwide projects in the transportation and power sectors, and has a vast experience in investment and infrastructure industry.

Mrs. Makoju is a financial expert with wide experience in financial risk management, while Owodunni is a professional of 18 years standing in the financial services sector, with emphasis in investment management, risk management and treasury. 

They are all expected to help steer and transform the investment and infrastructure industry and propel the sector to a high pedestal, the statement said.