News Talk on Dr. Eberechukwu Fortunate Uneze
By Francis Udoka Ndimkoha of Imo State University Alumni Association.
It was a famous American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882) that said, in the tenth stanza of his poem, “The Ladder of St. Augustine” that:
The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.
This, best sums up the excitement that greeted the announcement in August, 2015, of the appointment of Dr. Eberechukwu Uneze as Executive Director of Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Dr. Eberechukwu Fortunate Uneze is the 5th of 8 children born to the family of Late Chief Cyril and Mercy Uneze on the 11th of June, 1974 in the ancient city of Bida, Niger State. He hails from Obiokwu, Amakohia-Ubi in Owerri-West LGA, Imo State. Young Eberechukwu Uneze was lucky to have parents who were teachers and good Christians and through them he learnt the virtues of hardwork, diligence and dedication to duty.
He obtained his primary education from Amakohia-Ubi Primary School (1979-1986), junior secondary education from Amakohia-Ubi Secondary School (1986-1988) and senior secondary education from Presentation Secondary School Ogbaku (1988-1991). He had his university education in Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria, where he acquired a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. After his first degree, he took up a career in banking and later proceeded to pursue postgraduate education in the United Kingdom. Ebere holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Kent (UK) and a Master of Science degree in Economic Management and Policy from the University of Strathclyde (UK). Additionally, he has attended several postdoctoral courses and executive education programmes namely; Laval University (Canada) – Development Economics; Harvard Kennedy School of Government (USA) -Leading Successful Social Programs: Using Evidence to Assess Effectiveness; Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University (USA) – Budgeting and Financial Management in the Public Sector; London Business School (UK) – Strategic Investment Management; University of Chicago Booth School -Essentials of Effective Management: The Psychology of Management (USA).
He has also undergone professional trainings at the Evaluators’ Institute, George Washington University (USA) – Making Evaluation Data Actionable, Performance Measurement for Government and Non-profit Organizations, Cost-benefit and Cost-effectiveness Analysis, Outcome and Impact Assessment, Needs Assessment and the Centre for International Development, University of Bologna (Italy) – Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of Complex Development Programmes.
Widely known as one of the leading development thinkers in Nigeria and Africa, Uneze is a regular contributor to international policy seminars on Africa’s growth and economic development. He has over 10 years of experience in handling results-based development and public policy projects. His research interest cuts across Public Economics and Policy Analysis, Development Finance, Results-based Public Financial Management, and Outcome and Impact Evaluation.
Dr. Uneze’s experience cuts across many sectors. While at Kent, he taught courses in Economics at the undergraduate level. In 2009, he joined the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), a leading research policy think tank, as a Senior Research Fellow, and rose through the ranks to become the Executive Director, a position he held for four years until his appointment as an Executive Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria by the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2015. While at CSEA, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Global Development Network in recognition of his excellent contribution to the growth of research in Africa.
Dr. Uneze is a policy broker and has worked at the frontier of global development, travelling to over 20 countries to participate in policy and academic conferences. He has consulted on several international, national and sub-national projects in Nigeria (World Bank, African Development Bank, Department for International Development, Oversees Development Institute, Federal Government of Nigeria – Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission).
His research interest cuts across Public Economics and Policy Analysis, Development Economics, Results-based Public Financial Management, and Outcome and Impact Evaluation. With over 13 years of research experience in Development Finance and Public Policy, he has more than 30 articles and other publications to his credit.
Dr. Uneze is a member of several research and professional networks, including – Institute of Directors, Nigeria; the African Econometric Society; Poverty and Economic Policy Research Network; International Development Evaluation Association; American Economic Association; Canadian Economic Association.
He is married with three children.
On 27th of May, 2017, Umunwoha Patriotic Front in partnership with the Ndi Eze Umunwoha, honoured Dr. Eberechukwu Fortunate Uneze with the chieftaincy title, Ikemba Umunwoha, in a grand reception that held at Community Primary School, Orogwe, Owerri-West Local Government Area, Imo state.
Congratulations, Dr. Eberechukwu Fortunate Uneze, Executive Director, Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON). You are a shinning star.
