Just last week, Aminu Umar-Sadiq succeeded Uche Orji as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). This makes him the second boss of the establishment that manages 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 so very qualified to lead the investment institution of the federal government. His career started on a high note with Morgan Stanley’s mergers and acquisitions department, where he executed a lot of deals focused on Infrastructure, Energy, and Utilities.
Umar-Sadiq moved on 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 couple of years. He finally joined Société Générale’s mergers and acquisitions department for about a year. All of these experiences being garnered across different sectors and organizations would prove very critical in the later part of his career.
His time with NSIA has summarily been about developing, executing, and managing critical domestic infrastructure projects across core sectors like healthcare, roads, and power sectors. One of the things that contribute to his rich experience is 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 Nigeria Infrastructure Fund where he was responsible for the origination, execution, and management of infrastructure (directs) and private equity investments (funds and direct co-investments) in Nigeria. He also worked as Executive Director & Head of Direct Investments, and his recent appointment came after over a decade in the establishment. Umar-Sadiq also worked as Executive Director, Subsidiaries and Investment at the Authority.
He serves on numerous 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 also Mandela Washington Fellow (MWF). Umar-Sadiq equally serves as a Mentor with Endeavor. 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 NLI Board member.
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 the Saïd Business School, Oxford.
What Aminu will be doing at NSIA
The NSIA Act (2011) empowers the establishment to receive, manage and invest funds in a diversified portfolio of medium and long-term assets on behalf of the Federal Government, State Governments, Federal Capital Territory, and Local Governments Area Councils in preparation for the eventual depletion of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources.
NSIA executes this mandate through the three main funds: the Stabilisation Fund, the Future Generations Fund, and the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund (which Umar-Sadiq has managed as Director in the past). As MD/CEO of the investment establishment, Umar Sadiq will have to oversee all three funds.
This means that he will play a critical role in providing budget support in times of economic stress; saving funds for future generations of Nigerians, and investing in domestic infrastructure. Would it be too far-reaching to say Umar-Sadiq might now be one of the tripod stands on which Nigeria’s future leans heavily? At least for as long as he is NSIA boss…
