Austin joined the International Budget Partnership in June 2018 as the Country Manager for Nigeria. Prior to joining IBP, Austin worked with DFID’s flagship governance reform and public sector accountability program in Nigeria (Partnership to Engage, Reform, and Learn, or PERL), where he served as Federal Reform Manager. Austin managed the team that facilitated improvements in the linkages between policy-making, strategic planning, budgeting, and service delivery, and contributed to strengthening inter-governmental coordination between the federal and state governments. Previously, he was the Component Manager for Public Finance Management in DFID’s Federal Public Administration Reform Program (FEPAR), where he supported reforms initiated by Office of the Vice President. Austin was involved in the successful transition from the predecessor SPARC/SAVI/FEPAR suite of DFID programs to the PERL suite.
Austin’s roots are in civil society, working with the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) in Lagos state, where he managed a small core team and over 3,000 volunteers. He was instrumental to the emergence of civil society networks and coalitions on accountable governance at the state and local government levels. He founded and edited the Budget-Track Newsletter between 2006 and 2008.
Austin is finalizing an MA in Public Policy and Management at the University of York, United Kingdom, having already obtained a Postgraduate Diploma from the same institution. He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, as well as a B.Sc. from University of Jos – all in Nigeria. He is also a certified Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessor.