GovernanceGovernance
How the National AI Innovation Programme is led, anchored, and overseen.
The Governing Principle
NIEPA leads, owns, and is accountable for the Programme in its entirety. Every governance structure beneath that principle exists to support NIEPA's institutional leadership — not to complicate it.
NIEPA — National Anchor and Institutional Owner
The Programme is anchored, led, and institutionally owned by the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration. Under the 2003 National Council on Education policy and the National Policy on Education (2013 edition), NIEPA is the statutory institution mandated to coordinate capacity-building for education planners and managers across Nigeria's entire education system. The Programme operates within and on the basis of that mandate — it extends and scales what NIEPA is already empowered to do.
All training, certification, and accreditation decisions rest with NIEPA.No aspect of NIEPA's statutory authority is transferred to any partner or third party.
The Founding Instruments
The Programme rests on two signed founding instruments:
Memorandum of Understanding
A formal agreement between NIEPA and Ekenua & Co Limited, executed in 2026, establishing the institutional partnership, defining the roles and responsibilities of each party, setting out the governance and operating model, and providing the framework within which the Programme's development, funding mobilisation, and implementation proceed.
Letter of Authority
A formal instrument issued by NIEPA's Director-General, authorising Ekenua & Co Limited to engage with prospective funders, academic institutions, technology partners, and strategic partners on the Programme's behalf, subject to NIEPA's oversight and approval.
Together, these instruments provide the governance foundation that international funders, academic partners, and government counterparts can verify.
Governance Structures
Programme Steering Committee
A Programme Steering Committee, chaired by NIEPA, provides oversight, ensures alignment across the sector, and resolves coordination questions as they arise.
Programme Delivery Unit (PDU)
A dedicated Programme Delivery Unit manages day-to-day programme execution, donor reporting, and inter-partner coordination. The PDU operates under NIEPA's strategic oversight and within NIEPA's institutional framework. It does not exercise independent institutional authority; it executes the Programme on NIEPA's behalf.
The PDU is staffed by a combination of NIEPA personnel, technical specialists, and embedded advisory support from Ekenua & Co Limited. It is designed to be fully institutionalised within NIEPA over the Programme's life cycle — transitioning from a project-stage delivery vehicle into a permanent function of the Institute.
Ekenua's Role
Ekenua & Co Limited was recognised by NIEPA, in the signed Memorandum of Understanding, as Programme Architect, Strategic Implementation Partner, and Lead Funding Advisor. In that capacity, Ekenua leads programme design and architecture, develops implementation and governance frameworks, structures international academic, technology, and funding partnerships, and provides embedded advisory support to the PDU and to NIEPA leadership throughout the Programme life cycle.
Ekenua's role is structured to be time-limited and transferable. Capability is progressively transferred to NIEPA's permanent staff as the Programme matures, so that by the end of Phase 3 the Programme is fully owned and operated by NIEPA.
Why This Governance Model
This governance structure is designed to ensure that:
- •NIEPA retains full institutional ownership and accountability
- •Decision-making authority rests with Nigeria's statutory education institution
- •International partners engage through a single, clear point of accountability
- •Donor due diligence is straightforward and defensible
- •Capacity building and institutional transition are embedded from the start
- •The Programme is sustainable beyond its initial funding phases
For Partners and Funders
The governance framework ensures that all partners — funders, academic institutions, technology providers, and government bodies — can have confidence in NIEPA's institutional authority, the Programme's accountability structures, and the durability of the institutional arrangements that support delivery.