Just last week, Aminu Umar-Sadiq succeeded Uche Orji as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). This makes him the second boss of the establishment in charge of Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. Expectations are high from him as he will now play a leading role in driving sustained economic development for the benefit of all Nigerians. Here’s what you should know about Umar-Sadiq.
Umar-Sadiq is an experienced investment banker, and is well qualified to lead the federal government’s investment institution. His career began on a high note in Morgan Stanley’s mergers and acquisitions department, where he executed several deals focused on Infrastructure, Energy, and Utilities.
Umar-Sadiq moved to Denham Capital Management, a private equity firm with a natural resources specialist, and this time his work shifted to Infrastructure focused private equity for the next two years. He eventually joined Société Générale’s mergers and acquisitions department for about a year. All these experiences gained in different sectors and organizations would prove critical in the later part of his career.
His time at NSIA was about the development, implementation, and management of critical domestic infrastructure projects across core sectors such as healthcare, roads, and power sectors. One of the things that contributed to his rich experience was the years he spent as Portfolio Manager – Nigeria Infrastructure Fund where he led investments in toll roads, healthcare, agriculture, power, and real-estate.
Working with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), he served as a Member of the Executive Committee and Board of NSIA, and the Deputy Head – of the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund where he was responsible for the initiation, implementation, and management of infrastructure (direct ) and private equity investments (funds and direct co-investment) in Nigeria. He also worked as Executive Director & Head of Direct Investments, and his latest appointment comes after more than a decade in the making. Umar-Sadiq also worked as the Authority’s Executive Director, Subsidiaries and Investment.
He has served on several boards in a non-executive capacity, including the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN), NSIA Healthcare Development and Investment Company, and Multipurpose Industrial Platform Limited (MIPL).
He is an Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow (ATLF), a Nigeria Leadership Initiative Associate, and a Mandela Washington Fellow (MWF). Umar-Sadiq equally serves as a Mentor with Desire. He has volunteered at the African Leadership Institute since January 2018, as well as the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) since October 2021. He is a member of the Institute Of Directors IoD, Nigeria, and also serves as a member of the NLI Board.
Aminu holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Engineering Sciences from the University of Oxford (Saint John’s College), Oxford, United Kingdom. He also has a Leadership Diploma, from Saïd Business School, Oxford.
What will Aminu do with NSIA
The NSIA Act (2011) empowers the establishment to receive, manage and invest funds in a diversified portfolio of medium and long-term assets for the Federal Government, State Governments, Federal Capital Territory, and Local Governments Area Councils in preparation for the eventual depletion of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources.
The NSIA implements this mandate through three main funds: the Stabilization Fund, the Future Generations Fund, and the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund (which was managed by Umar-Sadiq as Director then). As MD/CEO of the investment establishment, Umar Sadiq had to oversee all three funds.
This means that he has an important role in providing budget support in times of economic stress; saving funds for future generations of Nigerians, and investing in local infrastructure. Is it going too far to say that Umar-Sadiq can now be one of the tripods on which the future of Nigeria rests so much? At least as long as he is the boss of the NSIA…