74 African Public Servants Selected For Oxford Leadership Programme

Seventy-four public sector professionals from eight African countries have been selected for the sixth cohort of the Aig-Imoukhuede Public Leaders Programme, as the initiative expands its network of reform-oriented public servants across the continent.

The programme, organised by the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation in partnership with the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, brings together public servants from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Eswatini.

The inclusion of Botswana and Eswatini marks their first participation in the programme, bringing the number of African countries represented since its inception to 12.

The latest cohort is expected to undergo a six-month programme comprising virtual coursework, an intensive residential week and reform projects to be implemented in their respective ministries, departments and agencies.
Since the programme began, its alumni have undertaken more than 300 reform projects across the continent, according to the foundation.

An impact survey by the organisation also found that 62 per cent of alumni surveyed had assumed expanded leadership responsibilities after completing the programme.

On the new cohort, the executive cice-chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, said public-sector reform required collaboration across national and institutional boundaries.

She said, “Public servants from twelve countries across Africa now have access to the same world-class faculty, the same learning experience and a network of peers facing many of the same reform challenges.”

Aig-Imoukhuede added that the network was important because public-sector reform could be isolating for officials attempting to introduce changes within their institutions.

She said the programme reminded participants that “they are not working in isolation but as part of a wider community of reformers across the continent.”

The programme has also produced reforms with direct implications for public service delivery.

Among them is Nigeria’s first sexual harassment policy for the National Youth Service Corps, which was approved in 2024 and established reporting and disciplinary procedures for about 400,000 corps members deployed annually.

In Lagos State, an alumni-led project aimed at improving primary healthcare access in a hard-to-reach riverine community increased outreach sessions from four to 12 monthly.

The initiative also recorded more than 540 outpatient visits and an increase in childhood immunisation, according to the foundation.

The foundation said the sixth cohort would apply lessons from the programme to practical challenges within their respective public institutions.