The many legacies of Yewande Sadiku, 7th Executive Secretary/CEO, NIPC
The many legacies of Yewande Sadiku, 7th Executive Secretary/CEO, NIPC
Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) in the last five years under the leadership of Yewande Sadiku has been more accountable to Nigerians than at any other period.
Notable strides during her leadership was the revamp of NIPC’s website to consistently publicize information on a quarterly basis.
The records available on the NIPC’s website include but are not limited to those on IGR income and expenditure, procurement, budget performance, pioneer status incentive reports, court cases involving the agency, FOI requests received and responses made, MOUs and Agreements signed, NIPC’s annual reports, business registration reports, policy documents, staff information, reports of the One-Stop Investment Centre, research reports and FOI annual reports.
NIPC under Yewande Sadiku’s watch entrenched transparency in the pioneer status incentive process for the country, an upgrade from the existing status – that was under administrative suspension based on allegations of abuse and mismanagement.
When Sadiku resumed office in 2016, NIPC’s ranking at the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Compliance and Transparency Award was 116 out of 137 agencies. NIPC moved from 90th in 2016 to 2nd in 2019 and 2020. The next ranking for 2021 is due this week and it is expected that NIPC would either maintain or surpass its current ranking of 2nd.
It is also on record that she came into the job without an aide or assistant, another rare occurrence for a public official. Instead, she got around to making the staff she met at NIPC do the work, a clear demonstration of the capacity latent but possible in the public sector if properly challenged. “Many times, I was pushing people beyond what they did not know themselves that they were capable of doing. I am really impressed that a good number of staff embraced the work,” she said in an interview she granted to the NIPC Intelligence.
There are many accolades that NIPC has received and respect that Nigeria has earned on account of NIPC’s work. NIPC is particularly proud of the fact that Nigeria is now regarded as a thought leader in the reform of international investment agreements, because of NIPC’s work in reviewing the country’s bilateral investment treaties. For that reason, NIPC is often invited to speak on the subject at international events. People from all over the world cite the Nigeria-Morocco BIT that NIPC negotiated following the reforms as an example of a balanced and new generation investment treaty that developing countries and emerging countries have been encouraged to emulate.
Similarly, on her assumption of office, NIPC’s e-newsletter, a platform that keeps its audience apprised with up-to-date information on economic development in Nigeria, just started but has been sustained up to this day and has grown in breadth and scope. For instance, on the basis of the newsletter, NIPC now prepares quarterly Reports on Investment Announcements.
Under her leadership, NIPC also developed a Compendium of investment incentives in Nigeria, a compilation of fiscal incentives in Nigerian tax laws and sector-wide fiscal concessions towards efforts at raising awareness of investment incentives in Nigeria.
NIPC developed the iGuide, an easy to use online platform providing investors with up-to-date and pertinent information on the processes, procedures and basic cost of doing business in the country. The iGuide provides information on starting a business, labour, production factors, land, taxes, investor rights, growth sectors and opportunities.
It was her initiative and leadership that led NIPC to develop The Book of States, a document that captures the competitive advantages and the key investment opportunities being promoted by each of Nigeria’s 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in an easily accessible format to drive greater attention to subnational investment opportunities in Nigeria.
Under Yewande Sadiku’s leadership, NIPC started a modern database of profiling investable opportunities, for matchmaking investors with opportunities.
The Commission started the idea of the OSIC Lab, an intervention mechanism for investors to resolve issues with government agencies either at the state or federal level.
The Single Window Investors Portal (SWIP), an e-business facilitation portal that would facilitate ease of doing in Nigeria by leveraging the capabilities of information technology to automate critical aspects of NIPC’s operations was pioneered by her.
The above are but a few of the impacts left by the 7th Executive Secretary/CEO of NIPC, Ms Yewande Sadiku. She has indeed set the bar high and laid the foundation for the next ES/CEO of NIPC to build on. It is our expectation that she will continue to innovate, motivate and lead in her future endeavours.
