Mrs. Zainab S. Ahmed (Chairperson)

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning

Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed is serving as Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning since 2019. At the time, President Muhammadu Buhari brought the two ministries under her as one, making her the de facto Minister of Economy.

She is an accountant by profession with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from ABU Zaria and a Master's in Business Administration (MBA). Mrs Ahmed, in her biography, says she has “extensive knowledge and diverse experience in public sector reform and management.”

Mrs Ahmed’s MBA was obtained in August 2004 from the Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye; while her BSc Accounting (1981) was from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; IJMB ‘A’ Levels (1979) from SBS/ABU Zaria; and WASC ‘O’ Level in 1977 from Queen Amina College, Kaduna.

Upon graduation, Mrs Ahmed was employed in 1982 as an Accountant II in the Main Accounts of Ministry of Finance in Kaduna State and was promoted to Accountant I in March 1984, but resigned in 1985 to join NITEL. Earlier, she had done her National Youth Service in Kaduna State in 1981/1982 where she was posted for primary assignment to Messrs. Egunjobi Suleiman & Co. Chartered Accountants, and served as an Audit Trainee.

She was the immediate past executive secretary and national coordinator of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). She was also a member of the last two NEITI boards, having worked in the NEITI and global EITI. She is the Vice Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation and Chairman of the Finance Committee of NCP.

Engr. Abubakar Aliyu (Member)

Honourable Minister of Power

Until his appointment as Minister of Power by President Muhammadu Buhari, Engineer Aliyu was the Minister of State for Works and Housing, since 2019.

Hails from Potiskum in Yobe State, the minister is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and a member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).

He attended Central Primary School, Jimeta, Adamawa State, where he had his First School Leaving Certificate in 1979. He proceeded to the G.S.S.S. Monguno, in Borno State, where he obtained his West African School Certificate in 1984.

After the completion of his secondary school, he proceeded to Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, where he obtained a National Diploma (ND) in Civil Engineering in 1988, and Higher National Diploma (HND) in High Ways and Transportation Engineering in 1993.

In 1999, he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil and Water Resources Engineering from the University of Maiduguri.

Engineer Aliyu had worked as a Technical Officer in Borno State Ministry of Works from 1988 to 1991. He was also a Principal Engineer and Head of Engineering Department in the ministry in 2004.

He was appointed as the Supervising Project Engineer of Yobe State Ministry of Housing in 2007, and Managing Director of Yobe State Housing and Property Development Corporation, as well as the Ag. Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Housing in 2009.

The minister is a recipient of numerous professional awards.

ALEX A.OKOH (Member)

DIRECTOR GENERAL, BPE

Mr. Alexander Ayoola Okoh was appointed the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) on Thursday, April 13, 2017. Prior to his appointment, Okoh was the Managing Partner of Ashford & McGuire Consulting Ltd, a leading, wholly indigenous management consulting firm.

The DG, who is currently a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, has 32 years experience, 22 of which were in banking where his responsibilities involved general management, leadership and organisational development.

He was the Managing Director/CEO of NNB International Bank Plc from 2001 to 2006, where his visionary leadership took the bank from a comatose state to a position of enhanced value for stakeholders. During his career in the banking sector, he served in a variety of leadership roles, including corporate banking, operations, treasury, as well as initiating and designing transformative projects and processes.

His banking career saw him working for Nigeria International Bank Limited (Citibank) and United Bank for Africa Plc, while his international experience included stints with Citibank New York, Fidelity Bank London, Swiss Banking Corporation, Zurich and Grindlays Bank, Zimbabwe.

As BPE helmsman, he has embarked on a comprehensive change programme of rediscovery and repositioning that has put the Bureau on a path of disciplined and responsible reform and privatisation, as well as an effective post-privatisation management regime. This programme will ensure that the reform objectives of the FGN are pursued with transparency, integrity and confidence and that the government and people of Nigeria become the ultimate beneficiaries.

Okoh studied Sociology at the University of Benin and holds a Master’s degree in Banking & Finance from the University of Ibadan. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme.

 Ms. Patience Oniha (Member)

Director-General - DMO

Ms. Oniha began her career at Icon Limited Merchant Bankers in 1986, where she rose to the position of a Manager, before joining First Securities Discount House Limited (now FSDH Merchant Bank Ltd.) in 1992. She rose to the position of General Manager/Director before joining Ecobank Nigeria Limited in 2000. Between 2004 – 2008, Ms. Oniha was in Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Ltd. as a General Manager.

After a fulfilling career in the banking sector spanning over 22 years, Ms. Oniha made a career move to the public sectors when she joined the DMO in 2008 as Director, Market Development Department. In this capacity, Ms. Oniha brought her banking experience to bear on various aspects of the DMO’s activities. Ms. Oniha obtained a B.Sc. Economics, First Class Honours from the University of Benin in 1983 and went on to earn an M.Sc. Finance from the University of Lagos in 1985. She is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria in 1990 and a Fellow in 2008. She is also an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

Mojoyinoluwa Dekalu-Thomas (Member)

Managing Director, NELMCO

Mojoyinoluwa Dekalu-Thomas has over twenty-two years international, progressive management experience gained from working in executive management positions the UK, Germany, Belgium, South Africa and Nigeria and in diverse industries including Legal, Oil and Gas, Telecommunications, Financial Services and Technology. She holds an LL.B (Hons.) from the University of Buckingham and a Post Graduate in International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK. Her areas of expertise include: Strategy Development and Implementation, Programme and Project Management, Risk Management, Stakeholder and Third Party Management, Budget Forecasting and Management, Business Development, Resource Management, Process Development and Re-engineering, Change Management and Financial Analysis.

Before joining NELMCO she held senior management positions in national and multinational companies. In Europe, she held roles focusing primarily on high level, high skilled, full cycle Programme/Project Management and Implementation of multi million Euro infrastructure development projects/programmes in Financial Services and Technology companies. In Africa her previous roles include Company Secretary/Head of Legal Services/Operations & Projects, Group Head Strategy/PMO/HR & Admin and Programme Director in a variety of industry sectors.

She has attended several wide-ranging training courses in Africa, Europe and the US and is a certified PRINCE2 and MSP Practitioner.

Dr. Nurain Hassan Ibrahim (Member)

Executive Director, Asset Management

Nurain Hassan Ibrahim is a management and strategy practitioner, with over two decades of experience in the private and public sectors in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. His areas of expertise include strategic planning; organisational transformation; management research/consulting; information & knowledge management; policy design/review; technology innovation; project management; and asset management.

Prior to his appointment as NELMCO’s Executive Director, Asset Management, he served as the Technical Adviser (Strategy) to Nigeria’s Honourable Minister of Power and was a member of several high-level committees. He has a PhD in Management (2010) from Leeds University Business School, England; MSc Knowledge Management (2003) from Aberdeen Business School, the Robert Gordon University, Scotland; and BSc Accounting (1995) from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria.

Nurain was the Technical Adviser (Strategy) to the Director-General while at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) between 2016 and 2019. Concurrently, he was Head, Corporate Planning & Transformation, and for a while the Acting Head, Information Technology Services. During this period, Nurain led the successful implementation of a major corporate transformation strategy for the agency.

At the universities of Leeds and Reading, United Kingdom, Nurain led or collaborated in major research/consultancy projects with UK industry, police forces and emergency services. This included work on the interface between digital technology, information management and organisational change, including work on the London 2012 Olympics and the £300 million upgrade of a major underground station in central London.

Before joining the public service, Nurain worked at Zenith Bank Plc, Fortune Bank Plc and FSB International Bank Plc (now Fidelity Bank) in Nigeria, and Aberdeen Mortgage Management in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Nurain is a member of the British Academy of Management (BAM) and European Group on Organisational Studies (EGOS), has published and presented papers in 15 international journals and conferences and attended more than 30 professional and personal development courses locally and internationally. He is a member of the Executive Committee and the Financial Secretary of Africa Healthcare Development Trust (AHDT), a UK charity dedicated to improving healthcare outcomes in Africa.

Baba Kalli Abba (Member)

Executive Director, Corporate Services, NELMCO

Baba Kalli Abba, is an Economist, Financial Analyst, Marketing Strategist and a season Administrator. He has experience in both the Private and Public Sector of about 28 years.

He obtained his BSc. Economics from the University of Maiduguri in 1989 and also Master Degree in Business Administration bias in Finance, from the same School in 2007.

His areas of expertise include Strategic Management, Investment portfolio management, budget and procedure skills, project monitoring and in Public Sector, Oil and Gas, Cement Industry. He budgeting procedures, strategic management, Project management

He has attended several training programmes and courses and both In house and Outside Training, and has vast experience in Finance, Management and Marketing.

He has worked with Savannah Bank Plc, Borno State Local Government Audit Department, African Petroleum Plc (Forte Oil Plc) and Dangote Cement Plc at various Managerial positions.

He joined the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Co (NELMCO) on 21, September, 2022 as an Executive Director, Corporate Services.

He is happily Married and blessed with six Children.