NESG appoints Osasuyi Dirisu as PIC executive director

By Olivia Nnorom 

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has appointed Osasuyi Dirisu as the new executive director of its Policy Innovation Centre (PIC).

Dirisu takes over from Faisal Naru, the Centre’s inaugural executive director, who was appointed to the position in July 2021 and helped set up the PIC as the first national institutionalized behavioural science initiative in sub-Saharan Africa.

“We are confident that Dr. Dirisu’s leadership, commitment and experience will help advance the mission of PIC in improving diagnostics, supporting evidence-based policy and crafting behavioral solutions to address critical development issues in Nigeria,” said Laoye Jaiyeola, NESG CEO.

Jaiyeola also thanked Faisal Naru for the dedication and enthusiasm he showed in building up the PIC.

“Over the past year, he has worked tirelessly to build the profile of the PIC internationally and also led the development of the Behavioural Insights for Accountability and Transparency Course funded by MacArthur Foundation.

“We cannot thank him enough for the dedication and enthusiasm he has displayed, and wish him the very best in the next phase of his career,” he said.

Dirisu joined the PIC in August 2021 as the inaugural deputy director, bringing to the role decades of experience in social development, public health, gender and inclusion. In the past year, she spearheaded a number of projects at the PIC, including the first-ever national-level Gender and Inclusion Summit, convened on Day 3 of the 28th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#28), to explore transformative ways to achieve gender equality, gender-responsive governance, and accelerate the actualization of the SDGs.

Prior to this role, Dirisu was research director at the Population Council, where she led several social and behavioural projects across sectors. She also led the development of the National Gender Based Violence (GBV) Dashboard, an innovative data management and visualization platform for validated, real-time GBV data in Nigeria on the EU-Spotlight initiative. She holds an MB:BS degree from the University of Ibadan; MPH from the University of Lagos, an MBA from the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, and PhD from the University of Leeds.

The Policy Innovation Centre (PIC) of the NESG is the first national-level unit in Africa applying lessons from the behavioural and social sciences, including testing interventions to find evidence to inform better policies, programmes and decision-making. The PIC is institutionalised within the NESG, a think-tank organisation that promotes sustainable growth and development in the Nigerian economy using research-based advocacy methods.