Comptroller General
Dr. Vincent Isegbe
He began his career as a Veterinary Officer in the Federal Department of Livestock, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 1989 and rose through the ranks to the position of Assistant Director before he joined the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service as one of its pioneer staff in 2008.
Dr. Vincent Isegbe has three decades of cognate experience in quarantine administration and management. He was appointed the pioneer Director-General of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) by His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2018.
Until this appointment, Dr. Isegbe was the Coordinating Director of NAQS. Dr. Isegbe earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1985 and his Master’s degree at the University of Maiduguri in 1990. He also obtained an MBA in International Agribusiness and Farm Management from Lead University in 2022 and has also undergone several trainings and courses within Nigeria and overseas. He is currently awaiting the final defence of his Ph.D. in International Agribusiness at Lead City University.
Upon joining NAQS, Dr. Isegbe became the Head of Collaboration, Planning and Partnership division and subsequently, the Head of Animal Quarantine Department; a position which he held until he attained the top position of the Coordinating Director in 2015. During his term as Coordinating Director, Dr. Isegbe conceived and launched the Export Improvement Initiative, a backward integration intervention designed to increase the volume of export in customary Nigerian agricultural commodities and emerging commodities such as sesame, soya bean, cinnamon, pigeon pea, sugar cane, honey and snail. As part of the Initiative, Nigeria exported 1,983 containers of hibiscus (zobo) flower to Mexico within the first nine (9) months of 2017 and earned US$35 million as a result.
Dr. Isegbe is a member of the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association. He once served as the Sectary General of the Yobe State chapter of the association. Dr. Isegbe sits on the Board of Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin City. He had previously served as a member of the Board of Nigeria Environmental Standard Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA) between 2015 and 2016.
The Director General has attended over 56 seminars, workshops and courses within and outside Nigeria. He is a perceptive thinker and an accomplished author. He has published several critically acclaimed articles in newspapers and papers in scientific journals on animal health, food safety and quarantine issues. As part of his pastime of intellection, he has written two books illuminating the complex and perplexing matters of rape and retirement titled Rape: The Horror, The Pains, The Management and Planning for Retirement in a Developing Economy.
Dr. Isegbe is passionate about expanding the frontiers of export market for Nigerian agricultural products. He is known for his commitment to the diversification of the economy. His avowed vision is to build the institutional capacity of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service to function at the level of excellence of the most efficient national quarantine authorities in the world and to contribute to the redefinition of the agriculture sector as an engine of wealth creation through the optimization of Nigeria’s comparative advantage in key agro-commodities.