Dr. Joe Abah, DAI’s Country Director for Niergia, is an internationally recognized expert in governance and institutional reforms, political economy analysis, and change management. Between 2013 and 2017, he was the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms in the Nigerian Presidency. Before that, Joe led several international development programs for various donors. Prior to returning to Nigeria from the United Kingdom in 2003, he was at the forefront of governance reforms in the United Kingdom, including driving public service reforms from the Prime Minister’s Office of Public Service Reforms in the United Kingdom Cabinet Office.

Even out of government, Joe continues to contribute to governance improvements in Nigeria. He was on the Presidential Steering Committee on Digital Identification and contributed to the development of Nigeria’s National Development Plan 2021-2025.

In November 2022, Joe joined the faculty of the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University to train the new government of Brazil that took office in January 2023. He was also the 2023 Keynote Speaker at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) ‘Africa Innovate Conference’ in April 2023. In December 2023, he was appointed a Visiting Fellow of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University.

He is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.

• National Honor, Officer of the Order of the Niger
• Ph.D., Maastricht University, The Netherlands
• M.A., business law, London Guildhall University, United Kingdom
• Bachelor of Laws, University of Calabar, Nigeria