Contact
enquiry@chiwuikeuba.org.ng
About Prof. Uba
Prof. Chiwuike Newington Uba, Ph.D
Professor, development economist and public financial management specialist. This page sets out his education, appointments and public service.
Chiwuike Uba began his career in accounting and finance in Enugu in 1998. He moved through research management, consultancy and teaching into public financial management and governance reform. Today he works as an independent consultant and academic, and describes his aim as connecting economic analysis, public finance and institutional reform to accountable governance and inclusive development.
In practice that means helping government offices make budgets, revenue systems, audits and procurement work as they are meant to, and explaining the results to the people who depend on them.
Academic background
His doctoral thesis examined the impact of democracy on economic growth in Nigeria (2019) and his master's thesis the impact of fiscal policy on growth (2012). He has taken executive courses at Duke University, the IMF and the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management.
Degrees
Award
Institution
Ph.D., Economics (Finance and Public Sector Economics)
Enugu State University of Science and Technology
MSc, Economics (Public Finance and Development Economics)
Enugu State University of Science and Technology
BA (Hons), Accounting and Financial Management
University of Sunderland
B.Ed., Management and Economics
Enugu State University of Science and Technology
HND, Accountancy
Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu
Selected professional training
Provider
Course
Duke University, USA
Budgeting and Financial Management in the Public Sector (2014); Non-Profit Management (2013)
International Monetary Fund
Financial Programming and Policies (2015)
West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management
Advanced Econometrics for Economic Analysis (2015); Quantitative Techniques for Economic Analysis (2014)
Institute of Leadership and Management
Level 7 Diploma in Executive Management (2013)
Economic Policy Research Centre
Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Analysis frameworks and tools (2015)
Debt Management Office, Nigeria
Sub-national Debt Management (2008)
Appointments and practice
Economics and public policy
His policy work spans federal institutions. In 2017 he served as Special Adviser on Economy to the Office of the Deputy Senate President, preparing briefing papers on employment, poverty reduction and public-private partnerships and giving input on bills and Senate debates. He worked with the National Planning Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Debt Management Office, the National Bureau of Statistics and the Budget Office of the Federation.
Earlier studies include a review of federal budget implementation from 2005 to 2009 for the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, a benchmarking of federal and state agencies for the National Planning Commission, an assessment of federal reforms from 1999 to 2015 for FCDO, and a study of social protection programmes for IDRC.
Public financial management and governance reform
Most of his assignments since 2020 sit here. For the USAID STATE2STATE programme, delivered by DAI Global, he contributed to PEFA-modelled PFM assessments and political economy analyses in several states, and developed an IGR expansion strategy, budget consultation procedures, and property valuation templates. For DAI he later wrote a tax audit and investigation manual for six states, external audit manuals for state audit offices and an internal audit manual. He developed a procurement guide and capacity framework for subnational governments for Praeceptor Consulting.
For Results for Development he worked on health budget process reform in Kano State and on the costing of a roadmap for multiple micronutrient supplements. In 2026 he completed subnational climate finance readiness assessments for the FCDO PACE project.
International development consultancy
His clients include implementing firms and programmes funded by USAID, FCDO, the European Union and IDRC, and he has worked on World Bank-sponsored surveys. The firms include DAI Global, Ecorys, GFA Consulting Group, Results for Development, SMEC and Oxfam GB. From March 2025 he has been a Key Expert on the technical assistance project for EU Global Gateway priorities in Nigeria, run by GFA Consulting Group, and from March 2026 its Team Leader.
Beyond Nigeria, he was national lead economist for Oxfam GB’s study of the costs of sexual and gender-based violence in Africa, which covered Egypt, Kenya and South Sudan as well as Nigeria.
Academic teaching and research
Since November 2023 he has been Professor and PhD Advisor at Global Humanistic University, where he guides doctoral candidates from first interview through the research proposal, dissertation and defence. Since 2017 he has taught graduate advanced microeconomics as adjunct lecturer at ESUT Business School. He has been Senior Research Fellow at the African Heritage Institution since 2013.
His published research, mostly co-authored, covers fiscal policy, inflation, exchange rates, capital flows, energy and growth, and unemployment. It has appeared in journals including Economic Annals, the Journal of International Trade & Economic Development and Cogent Economics & Finance.
Leadership and capacity development
His CV records more than 200 workshops and seminars on financial management and organisational capacity. They include board retreats for the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, a session on the future of board governance at the CBN-FITC Directors Programme and results-based management training for ECOWAS project managers.
He has held management roles at the African Heritage Institution, including finance and administration and acting leadership of the institute, and earlier headed finance and administration at a Nigerian construction company.
Public service and policy advisory
Alongside the 2017 Senate appointment, he has advised public bodies on institutional questions: governance reform assessments in the South East for the FCDO-funded PERL programme, an organisational review and financial systems for the Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action, and costing of proposed amendments to the Nigerian Prison Act.
Humanitarian and community engagement
He founded the Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation in 2016 after the death of his wife, Amaka, from an asthma crisis, and has chaired its board since November 2016. The foundation works on asthma awareness and access to treatment. Its three centres, first described in 2018, cover asthma and respiratory conditions, youth and rural development, and leadership and global education.
Professional philosophy
He holds that public policy should be built around people, that development has to include them, and that leadership has to rest on integrity. His work reflects a preference for manuals, procedures and training that outlast an assignment, over reports that sit on a shelf.
Professional memberships
Fellow, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (FCNA)
Fellow, Chartered Institute of Cost and Management Accountants, Nigeria (FCMA)
Member, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (ACTI)
Member, Nigerian Institute of Management (MNIM)
Member, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, Nigeria (MCIPM)
University of Sunderland
Member, Chartered Institute of Public Relations, UK (MCIPR)
Enugu State University of Science and Technology
Member, Institute of Financial Accountants, UK (MFA)
Biographies for introductions
Prof. Chiwuike Newington Uba, Ph.D., is a development economist and public financial management specialist whose work since 1998 has covered budgeting, domestic revenue, audit, procurement and institutional reform in Nigeria. He has worked for federal agencies, state governments, civil society organisations and implementing firms on programmes funded by USAID, FCDO, the European Union and IDRC. His outputs include audit and tax manuals, budget consultation procedures, procurement guides and training programmes for state officials.
He holds a Ph.D. in Economics (Finance and Public Sector Economics) from Enugu State University of Science and Technology. He is Professor and PhD Advisor at Global Humanistic University, adjunct lecturer in advanced microeconomics at ESUT Business School and Senior Research Fellow at the African Heritage Institution. His co-authored research on fiscal policy, inflation, exchange rates and capital flows has appeared in Economic Annals, the Journal of International Trade & Economic Development and Cogent Economics & Finance. He is Chairman of the Board of the Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation, which campaigns on asthma care and health financing.
Prof. Chiwuike Newington Uba, Ph.D.
Professor and PhD Advisor, Global Humanistic University