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Women Leading the Change • Participant Spotlight

Ruth Achu

Senior Associate Finance/Admin Officer Abuja, Nigeria Group A WLC Mentor

Ruth Achu is a dedicated, results-driven and detail-oriented Leader, She's a Finance and Administrative Professional with over 15 years of progressive experience, more than a decade working with international donor-funded organizations such as USAID. Recently worked as Finance and Admin Officer with Abt Global on the USAID/PMI Evolve Project Nigeria, where she successfully managed complex finance and administrative functions across operations. Demonstrated expertise in financial reporting, procurement, vendor management, and project implementation support across fast-paced, multicultural environment. Adept in leveraging analytical thinking and strong organizational skills to drive operations efficiency and compliance. With a practical approach to problem-solving and financial management skills. She Currently work with Marrietta AIDS Care and Education Relief Foundation FCT, Abuja as Senior Associate Finance and Admin Officer. She Holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic and Computer Technology, a Post Graduate Diplomas in Business Administration and Post Graduate Diploma in Logistics and supply Chain Management, Stores and Material Manager, and Masters in Procurement and Sourcing Manager and Supply chain management. Recently, she completed an MBA in Finance to strengthen her skills. She’s an advocate for women and girl’s empowerment. She brings a strong commitment to accountability and leadership. She's driven by resilience.

Mentor Modalities
Group mentoring sessions Career and leadership clinic
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Endorsements
80
Ruth Achu
Education
MBA
Age range
35–44
Organization
Marrietta Aids Care and Education Relief Foundation
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Ruth Achu
Ruth Achu
Ruth Achu
Ruth Achu
Ruth Achu
Leadership focus
Key issues & motivation
Key issue(s)
1. Access to Education 2. Gender based violence (GBV) 3. Gender Equality 4. Child Marriage 5. Employment opportunity 6. Maternal Health
Motivation
What motivated me to join Women Leading the Change Cohort is my deep passion for personal growth, I needed to build my capacity in leadership position through resilience and as a woman who has faced challenges, I needed to rebuild myself. I believe that women who are empowered helps communities. This program represents what I belief and stand for which is excellence, growth, leadership and purpose, I want to strengthen my skills so my voice can be heard to influence change for women and girls not just for myself alone, to help them build confidence and give them a platform to speak for themselves. I want to grow, learn and collaborate with a network of passionate and strong women to change the narrative. Furthermore, I joined this program because I needed to gain knowledge and in turn impact and support women to grow above limitation and become a leaders who inspires and drive sustainable change.
Leadership philosophy
For me leadership is to inspire and lead through action, I believe everyone should participate in the process. I like to share responsibility with my team, I respect my team, listen to their ideas and suggestion while behaving with empathy, empowerment focus leadership, purpose and kindness.
Research project
To evaluate the effectiveness of electoral reforms in enhancing the credibility and management of elections in Nigeria, with a focus on the post-2023 general elections.
Before Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, there was optimism that the persistent issue of election fraud would be addressed through the 2022 electoral reform by former President Muhammadu Buhari. However, the election was marred by voter suppression, result manipulation, ballot theft, vote buying, factional conflicts, and occasional violence that forced voters to flee. Additionally, the IREV system was often not used for result uploads, preventing real-time verification, and there were allegations of INEC colluding with political actors to manipulate BVAS. The widespread disillusionment, as evidenced by numerous cases before the electoral tribunal, highlights the failure of INEC to ensure necessary infrastructure and logistics for free and fair elections. Delays and violence in regions like Lagos, Kogi, and Rivers reduced voter turnout. Moreover, difficulties in uploading results and the potential for manipulation further undermined trust in the system. Trust is crucial to the electoral process; its absence leads to voter apathy, lower participation, and election-related violence. The failures of the 2023 elections threaten Nigeria’s democratic future, underscoring the need for immediate reforms. This study aims to evaluate why the 2022 Electoral Act did not result in credible elections in 2023.
Target beneficiaries
This research project target beneficiaries includes registered voters across the six geopolitical zones, INEC officials, civil society organizations (CSOs), election observers, political party representatives, and gender-focused advocacy groups. Particular attention is given to women and youth between the ages of 18 - 35 and older voters, who represent critical yet often marginalized demographics in electoral participation.
Expected impact
This project highlighted the mixed outcomes of the 2022 electoral reform on the 2023 general elections in Nigeria. Despite initial optimism, the elections revealed ongoing challenges in addressing threats and violence, exacerbated by insufficient security personnel, politicized security agencies, and partisan interests among INEC officials. The effectiveness of the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in accrediting voters and reducing multiple voting incidents was tempered by operational difficulties, such as technical malfunctions and lapses in real-time result transmission. Expected impact and outcomes of our research project is evaluating the impact of present and past electoral reforms in Nigeria, particularly the use of BVAS, on public trust, electoral transparency, voter participation (especially among women and youth), and overall electoral credibility in the country’s six geopolitical zones.
Achievements
Evidence of leadership & engagement
Achievements / recognitions
1. Led the Reclaimers as Group A leader in Women Leading the change cohort. Leading and coordinating research, advocacy, teamwork and research writing 2. Mentoring and Operational support: Provided hands-on financial and operational support to the LHSS Finance Officer and Operations Officer during the project’s start-up phase. Trained staff on financial transactions such as travel advance and retirement processes for both staff and partners. Supported the preparation of payment authorization vouchers ensuring accurate project charge code capture. Guided team members on USAID-compliant procurement procedures and processes. Provided technical support on the use of QuickBooks for financial data entry and reconciliation. 3. Recognized as an outstanding change maker at Royal Integrity and Accountability Organization on women and girls awareness on HIV, Malaria, gender-based violence and tuberculosis 4. Received spot bonus award for most hardworking staff under the USAID-PMI Vectorlink project Nigeria with Abt Global
Meaningful change
During the stop work order by Donald trump in January 2025, I used the opportunity to transform my experience into a platform where I mentored individuals on leadership, personal finance, growth and mindset development. This experience changed me and I received a lot of feedback which shows that empowerment goes beyond mentoring.
Networks / associations
1. Advocacy Forum for CSOs in Nigeria 2. Young Finance Leaders 3. WLC – COHORT ETC
Evidence record
Verified outcomes after WLC
Verified outcomes will appear here as A2WG reviews and publishes them.