Merit Over Politics: Why Mrs. Somefun’s Appointment to HYPADEC Is a Call to Do Things Differently

In a country often accused of rewarding connections over competence, the recent nomination of Mrs Tomi Somefun to lead the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPADEC) is a rare moment worth pausing for. Not because it was expected, but because it wasn’t. A technocrat with a storied career in banking, a woman who had just taken a well-earned retirement after steering one of Nigeria’s banks through turbulent economic cycles, Mrs Somefun neither sought nor lobbied for the role. Her appointment is not only merit-based; it is symbolic. It says, quite clearly, that hard work, character, and capability can still be recognised in Nigeria without political backing, lobbying, or inducements.

With over 35 years of experience across finance and professional services, including 26 years in core banking, Mrs Somefun’s credentials are anything but superficial. She served as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Unity Bank Plc from 2015 until March 2025, overseeing critical reforms and steadying the bank during volatile periods. Prior to that, she held senior executive positions at United Bank for Africa (UBA), including leading the establishment of UBA Pensions Custodian. Her early career began at Arthur Andersen (now KPMG), where she honed the analytical and ethical leadership style that continues to define her professional identity.

Her educational background is no less distinguished. She holds a degree in English from Obafemi Awolowo University and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). She has furthered her executive education at globally recognised institutions including Harvard Business School, INSEAD (France), Wharton, Columbia Business School, and the UC Booth School of Business. An alumna of the Lagos Business School’s CEO Programme, Mrs Somefun stands among a very small group of professionals whose profiles combine local depth with global relevance.

These are not just credentials, they are indicators of readiness. And at a time when HYPADEC must rise to meet both humanitarian and developmental challenges, her appointment, if accepted could provide the commission with the steady hand it needs.

The tragedy in Mokwa, Niger State, where recent flooding claimed the lives of around 100 individuals and displaced many more, was a national heartbreak. Communities across Nigeria’s hydroelectric corridor are facing increasingly complex environmental threats, climate-driven floods, erosion, infrastructure collapse, and limited access to early-warning systems. While HYPADEC has made efforts in the past, the scale and frequency of such events now call for a new level of responsiveness, coordination, and forward planning.

This is not to suggest that past or current management teams have done nothing—but to acknowledge that more must be done. Nigerians in affected regions are not just asking for support after disaster strikes, they are asking for systems that anticipate, mitigate, and prevent those disasters in the first place.

This is where Mrs Somefun’s appointment could make a transformative difference. Her private-sector mindset, operational discipline, and risk management experience are precisely the strengths needed to shift HYPADEC from being reactive to becoming truly proactive.

Of course, some have raised concerns about Section 93(2) of the HYPADEC Act, which calls for the Managing Director to be from one of the host states. This is a valid point of law, and surely is a clarified and appropriate reason by the Presidency and legal authorities for the appointment. However, it is equally important to ask: what kind of leadership does HYPADEC require at this moment?

If the answer is capability, transparency, and service delivery, then Mrs Somefun is more than qualified. It’s also worth noting that while she may not be an indigene of the hydroelectric zones, there are strong indications of familial and social ties to the region. But more importantly, she has not come into this role through lobbying, favour, or political alignment. She was identified and called to serve her fatherland; an act that itself sends a hopeful message: in Nigeria, merit can still speak louder than power.

President Tinubu has already set a precedent for this approach. His appointment of Barrister Nyesom Wike, from Rivers State, as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), raised eyebrows initially, but has since drawn more applauses than other issues. Wike’s performance in Abuja has been tangible, with long-abandoned infrastructure now completed and visible results earning public goodwill across party and ethnic lines. Also is other similar northern appointment to the southern region.

Mrs Somefun offers a similar promise. Her legacy in banking is one of stability, strategic growth, and ethical standards. She brings a reputation that is untarnished by partisan politics and a skillset finely tuned to institutional management and accountability. HYPADEC, under her stewardship, couldstrengthen a model for how federal commissions should function: efficient, transparent, inclusive, and mission-driven.

Communities in Kogi, Niger, Kwara, Kebbi and other affected states deserve leadership that delivers, not just promises. That may sometimes require looking outside traditional pools of appointment, especially when the goal is not appeasement, but performance. Laws should guide our actions, yes. But vision should shape our leadership.

If Mrs Somefun takes this role, she must be supported and judged by the quality of her work not the geography of her origin. Nigeria’s development challenge is too urgent, and the stakes too high, to allow form to override function. The true test of public service is not where a leader comes from but whether they rise to the moment they are called.

And this, unquestionably, is one of those moments.

Cmrd G. Azu, a public analysts and Mary E.M. Adikwu writes from London, United Kingdom.