Contact
enquiry@chiwuikeuba.org.ng
Development economist, public financial management, governance and public sector reforms specialist
Prof. Chiwuike Newington Uba,
Ph.D.
Connecting economic analysis, public finance and institutional reform to accountable governance and inclusive development.
Chiwuike Uba has worked on budgets, revenue systems, audit, procurement and governance reform in Nigeria since 1998. His assignments for federal agencies, state governments and development programmes have produced audit and tax manuals, budget consultation procedures, procurement guides and training for public officials. He teaches and supervises doctoral research, publishes on fiscal policy and growth, and chairs the Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation, which works on asthma care and health financing.
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The record in figures
1998
In public finance and development practice since
200+
Workshops and seminars delivered
50+
Assignments leading PFM reform work
Nigerian states with documented assignments
Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Gombe, Kano, Oyo, Sokoto and others
Countries in study work
Nigeria; Egypt, Kenya and South Sudan (one study, 2015 to 2016)
Expertise
Where the work is concentrated
Eight service areas, each tied to assignments in the portfolio.
Economic policy and development economics
Governments and institutions that need a clear reading of the fiscal and economic evidence before they choose a policy.
Domestic revenue mobilisation and taxation
Thin tax bases, incomplete taxpayer registers and inconsistent audit practice at state level.
Development finance and investment readiness
Projects and states that are not ready to attract or manage investment and climate finance.
Research, evaluation and policy advisory
Programmes that need an independent view of what is working.
Public financial management
Budgets that are not credible, plans that do not match budgets, and weak tracking of performance.
Governance and institutional reform
Institutions that cannot show how decisions are made or whether rules are followed.
Health financing and social protection
Health and social budgets that do not match need, and programmes with no costed path to scale.
Training and capacity development
Staff and boards who have new systems or manuals and need to use them.
Selected work
Three of the 24 assignments in the portfolio
EU Global Gateway technical assistance, Nigeria
Mar 2025 to Mar 2027 (contract term) · Nigeria
Client
GFA Consulting Group, for EU Global Gateway priorities in Nigeria
Role
Governance (PFM and public sector reforms) Key Expert from March 2025; Team Leader from March 2026
Problem addressed
Public and private stakeholders in Nigeria and EU Member States need structured routes to invest in digital, transport, health and governance priorities.
Work undertaken
Engages government institutions, EU Member States, private actors and development partners. Collects economic and sectoral intelligence to identify investment opportunities, supports policy dialogue and contributes to cooperation frameworks and roadmaps. As Team Leader, leads project delivery, expert coordination and reporting to EU contractual requirements, and the development of sector investment and bankability roadmaps.
Documented output
Ongoing assignment. Deliverables belong to the client and are not described here.
Health budget process reforms, Kano State
Jul 2024 to Sep 2025 · Kano State, Nigeria
Client
Results for Development (R4D)
Role
Health Budget Process Reforms Consultant
Problem addressed
The state health sector needed an annual operational plan and budget that fit together, with performance tracked through the year.
Work undertaken
Wrote the concept note and workplan and managed the reform programme in the state. Assessed baseline capacity of the Planning and Budget Committee and planning cells, built a framework and customised training modules, and ran a three-day training to align annual operational plans with the health sector budget. Adapted the Budget Performance Monitoring tool for state use and trained committee members to pilot it for quarterly reports. Supported operational plan and mock budget workshops for the 2025 budget.
Documented output
Customised capacity-building modules, an adapted Budget Performance Monitoring tool piloted for quarterly reporting, policy briefs and knowledge products.
Tax audit and investigation manual for six states
Dec 2023 to Apr 2024 · Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Sokoto, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi States
Client
DAI Global
Role
Tax Audit and Investigation Expert and Team Lead
Problem addressed
State revenue services needed consistent procedures for tax audit and investigation.
Work undertaken
Reviewed internally generated revenue (IGR) documents and tax laws, regulations, guidelines and circulars. Prepared a draft tax audit and investigation manual, reviewed and quality-assured the adapted manual prepared by other consultants, and prepared generic training materials from the validated manual.
Documented output
A draft manual, a quality review of the adapted manual and training materials based on the validated version.
Publications and commentary
Recent commentary
Selected opinion pieces published in Nigerian newspapers.
23 March 2026
Business A.M.
Infrastructure and fiscal policy
Building Nigeria's bridges with smart financing, smart spending
Nigeria spends heavily on infrastructure and still leaves citizens underserved, so the central question is how well existing resources are used, not how much is borrowed. The piece argues that milestone-linked, blended finance such as the EU's Global Gateway partnerships suits states with strong execution capacity, while weaker states need phased support that builds institutions. It adds that federal authorities must set standards and coordinate major national projects.
12 May 2026
The Mirror
Health financing
World Asthma Day 2026: Can Nigeria prosper if children can't breathe?
Nigeria spends heavily on infrastructure and still leaves citizens underserved, so the central question is how well existing resources are used, not how much is borrowed. The piece argues that milestone-linked, blended finance such as the EU's Global Gateway partnerships suits states with strong execution capacity, while weaker states need phased support that builds institutions. It adds that federal authorities must set standards and coordinate major national projects.
11 May 2025
The Mirror
Health financing
World Asthma Day 2025: Making inhaled treatments accessible for all, a national imperative for Nigeria
Makes the case that inhaled asthma medicines should be available and affordable to everyone, not only the wealthy. Points to high prices, a weak primary health system, outdated essential medicines lists, air pollution and low public health spending, and calls for updated lists, national guidelines, subsidies, local production and higher health budgets.
How the work is done
A budget, an audit manual or a revenue strategy changes what a government does only when the people who run it have helped shape it and are trained to use it. The assignments in this portfolio follow that pattern: manuals are written after a review of the state's own laws, tested with state partners in validation sessions, and followed by training in the same assignment.
The research and commentary come from the same place. Papers on fiscal policy, inflation and capital flows ask what the numbers show. Commentary on infrastructure financing and asthma care asks what governments should do about them.
Academic engagement and foundation
Beyond the consulting work
Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation
Prof. Uba has chaired the board of the Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation since November 2016. The foundation works on asthma awareness, access to inhaled medicines and health financing, and runs a school-based asthma programme.
Academic engagement
He also teaches graduate economics at ESUT Business School and advises doctoral candidates at Global Humanistic University.
Enquiries
Direct contact
Invite him to advise, teach or speak
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