The Chairman of Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, has urged public servants to be catalysts of change in the country.
He said this in a statement titled, ‘Three outstanding Nigerian public servants awarded scholarships for masters in public policy at the University of Oxford’, on Wednesday.
The statement said the foundation, a philanthropic organisation founded to improve the lives of Africans through transformed public service delivery and increased access to quality primary healthcare, announced the recipients of the 2023 AIG Scholarships.
The statement said he “Recognised the uniqueness of their current roles as public servants entrusted with the responsibility of serving the greater good of society, ensuring the welfare and progress of the nation as a whole.
“Thanking the scholars for their role in public service, he expressed his expectations that they will return to their Ministries, Departments and Agencies as catalysts of change armed with the knowledge and skills acquired from their studies to drive meaningful progress in the nation’s governance and policies.”
According to the statement, three exceptional Nigerian public servants had been awarded an opportunity to undertake a Masters in Public Policy programme at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxfordand, to gain a world-class public policy education, which they would use to make a lasting impact in the public sector.
It stated, “The 2023/2024 AIG scholars are Abdulhakeem Abdulkareem (special assistant to the Kaduna State Governor); Ajike Ogbu, (assistant chief engineer, Performance Management Department, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation) and Olutimayin Itunuoluwa, (deputy manager, Internal Audit Department, Central Bank of Nigeria).
In her speech to the scholars, the Executive Vice-Chair of the Foundation, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, highlighted the defining qualities of an AIG scholar and the impact they were expected to make in public service.
She noted that in their time in Oxford, the scholars would be armed with an advanced understanding of public policy and governance, which they could use to shape and implement policies that address the nation’s most pressing challenges.
