President Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed the appointment of two Executive Directors, Mrs. Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli and Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq to the board of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).
The appointments follow the realignment in 2018 of NSIA’s strategy with a pivot towards domestic infrastructure, as reflected in the allocation of 50 per cent of future contributions to infrastructure investments.
In 2018, the NSIA Board established for the first time a Direct Investment Committee for review and oversight of investments in core domestic infrastructure sectors such as motorways, agriculture, healthcare, power, and education.
While the Mrs. Ojekwe-Onyejeli was reappointed as Executive Director for a second term, while Mr. Umar-Sadiq joins the board for a first term.
Onyejeli, who doubles as NSIA’s Chief Operating officer of NSIA was first appointed an Executive Director in October 2012 and served as the Chief Risk Officer until 2017 when her role was expanded to that of Chief Operating Officer. She has a wealth of experience spanning nearly three decades.
She joined the Authority from Barclays where she was Director and Head of Operational Risk and Control at the Bank, overseeing 15 countries across Africa, Middle East and Asia. Prior to Barclays, Mrs. Ojekwe-Onyejeli held senior roles at Citibank. Mrs. Ojekwe-Onyejeli received a degree in Chemistry from the University of Lagos, and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management in the UK. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and also a qualified Chartered Financial and Tax Accountant.
She is an Alumna of both the Oxford and Wharton Executive Management Programs and has attended many director-level programmes in leading institutions globally.
Similarly, Umar-Sadiq, who is NSIA’s Deputy Head of Direct Investments is joining the board for the first time, as Executive Director.
Mr. Umar-Sadiq has significant experience in investment banking, private equity and public finance, including his most recent role at the NSIA where he served as a Senior Vice-President and Deputy Head, Infrastructure.
Since joining NSIA, Mr. Umar-Sadiq has led the development, execution and management of critical domestic infrastructure projects in the agriculture, healthcare, roads, real-estate and power sectors. Prior to joining the NSIA, he worked in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley focused on the Energy and Utilities sectors.
He also worked with Denham Capital Management, an oil and gas, mining, and power focused private-equity fund.
Speaking on behalf of both appointees, Mrs. Ojekwe-Onyejeli said, “We are honored to be appointed and look forward to continuing our work with the Board, Governing Council and employees in helping to lead the execution of NSIA’s strategy.”
The NSIA was established to manage funds in excess of budgeted hydrocarbon revenues.
