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In collaboration with the Gates Foundation, the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) has launched the Nigerian chapter of the Leadership Excellence in Africa’s Public Sector (LEAPS) programme.
LEAPS is a training and mentorship platform that aims to strengthen public financial management (PFM) and leadership across Africa.
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Speaking at the launch in Abuja on Monday, Bakary Kone, special adviser to the Executive Secretary of ACBF, Mamadou Biteye, described the LEAPS programme as a response to Africa’s urgent need for transformative and accountable leadership in the public sector.
According to Mr Kone, LEAPS is designed not as a classroom initiative but as a launchpad for high-performing public officials to sharpen their strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and ethical decision-making skills.
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“Technical competence already exists, but what is needed now is leadership that inspires, influences, and delivers,” he said.
The initiative was first piloted across five countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and Zimbabwe, where 89 senior officials completed a six-month programme by June 2025.
Gates Foundation
Speaking at the launch, Adil Ababio, senior programmes officer at the Gates Foundation, emphasised the Foundation’s long-standing commitment to public finance reform in Nigeria and across Africa.
Mr Ababio noted that while technical training is often the focus of government reform initiatives, the LEAPS programme stands out for its focus on leadership and change management.
Drawing on his previous work with similar programmes across Africa, he said the impact of such training lies in how it lights a flame of reform in individual participants.
“This is about more than 15 participants. It is about building coalitions, breaking down silos, and focusing on results,” he said.
He also highlighted the Gates Foundation’s mission of ensuring no child or mother dies from preventable causes, eliminating deadly diseases, and lifting millions out of poverty, goals which, he said, require strong public institutions and leadership.
Key Leadership Gaps
A presentation of Nigeria’s country needs assessment findings revealed key areas of concern in the country’s public financial management system.
According to the findings, while senior Nigerian officials are technically proficient, they face challenges in self-leadership, team coordination, and cross-institutional collaboration.
The assessment, conducted in September 2024, involved officials from the Accountant General’s Office, the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, and the Budget and Economic Planning departments.
It showed that while awareness of personal accountability and strategic foresight exists, emotional intelligence, inclusion, and leadership beyond institutional boundaries remain areas of weakness.
Three core challenges stood out: poor collaboration between PFM institutions, weak communication of reforms to citizens and political stakeholders, and underdeveloped accountability structures within oversight institutions such as audit offices and legislative committees.
Capacity improvement
ACBF and its partners developed a country-specific capacity improvement plan to address these gaps.
The LEAPS programme for Nigeria includes self-paced online modules, individual and group coaching, technical seminars on emerging topics such as AI in PFM and green budgeting, and mentorship by a strategic advisory panel of former ministers and global experts.
Modules will cover areas such as Leading Self, Leading Teams, Leading Organisations, and Leading the PFM Ecosystem.
Participants will also work on country-specific case studies focused on reform challenges, such as interagency collaboration and public communication.
In addition, a 360-degree assessment will guide each participant’s personal leadership development plan, supported by dedicated coaching.
Government support
Speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Lydia Jafiya, Ibrahim Abubakar, a Deputy Director in the ministry, praised the timing of the programme.
Mr Abubakar described the programme as a bold step forward in strengthening Nigeria’s public sector at a time of fiscal and monetary reforms.
He noted that the LEAPS programme aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and urged participants to challenge conventional approaches and lead reforms that deliver tangible results.
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The government, he said, would provide the necessary support to ensure that participants can apply what they learn.
The LEAPS workshop is part of efforts to strengthen leadership in Africa’s public financial systems, led by the ACBF and the Gates Foundation.
Established in 1991, ACBF is the African Union’s specialised agency for capacity development, working to improve governance across the continent. Nigeria is a founding member.
The Gates Foundation, which opened its first African office in Nigeria in 2012, supports health, development, and anti-poverty programmes globally.
Both institutions launched the LEAPS programme under the Enhancing Leadership and Governance in Public Financial Management (ELG PFM) initiative.
The workshop brought together government officials and senior public finance officials to strengthen leadership, build reform momentum, and promote collaboration across the sector.
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