Under the leadership of Yewande Sadiku, NIPC became more transparent and accountable to Nigerians than at any other period in its history. During her tenure, the Commission revamped its website to consistently publicise information on a quarterly basis, covering IGR income and expenditure, procurement, budget performance, Pioneer Status Incentive reports, court cases, FOI requests, MOUs and agreements, and a host of operational and governance information.
One of her most consequential reforms was entrenching transparency in the Pioneer Status Incentive (PSI) process — restoring public confidence in a scheme that had been under administrative suspension due to allegations of abuse and mismanagement. When Sadiku assumed office in 2016, NIPC ranked 116th out of 137 agencies on the Freedom of Information Act Compliance Index; by 2019 and 2020, it had attained 2nd place consecutively, with the 2021 ranking due at the time of publication.
Sadiku is also credited with building a committed internal team without bringing in an external aide — a rare occurrence for a public official — and for championing Nigeria's reputation as a thought leader in the reform of International Investment Agreements. Under her leadership, NIPC developed the RIBS (Responsible, Inclusive, Balanced and Sustainable) investment philosophy as a guiding framework for the Commission's engagement with both domestic and foreign investors.
"Many times, I was pushing people beyond what they did not know themselves that they were capable of doing. I am really impressed that a good number of staff embraced the work," she said in a final interview with the NIPC Intelligence team.
