Austin Tam-George is a Nigerian academic and communication consultant who served in the Rivers State Government as the Commissioner for Information and Communication, from 21 December 2015 to 23 June 2017 when he voluntarily resigned from his post in Governor Nyesom Wike's Cabinet.
Tam-George studied leadership and public policy at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and earned a Ph.D. from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
He was also an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Research Fellow and lecturer at the Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Tam-George joined the executive education programme at the IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain, focusing on communication, leadership, and educational development.
As a member of the Harvard Business Review (HBR) Advisory Council, an opt-in research community of business professionals, Tam-George contributes to advancing global discourse on strategy, leadership, and public problem-solving.
He served as Technical Advisor to UNESCO at its global conference on the impact of COVID-19 on the education of young people in Africa and around the world.
Tam-George also served as a Research Consultant to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in its good governance monitoring projects across Africa.
At the School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos,Nigeria, where he was a lecturer, Tam-George helped lead curricula innovations at the intersection of communication, law, and corporate strategy.
Since 2010, Dr. Tam-George has designed and facilitated high-impact communication training for lawyers, judges, and legal advocates. His custom-built courses have been attended by over 10,000 lawyers and law school students, equipping them with strategic influence, persuasive advocacy, and ethical public engagement skills essential for 21st-century legal practice.
His keynote address on Strategic Influence in Legal Practice delivered at a virtual seminar organized by the Nigerian Bar Association Institute of Continuing Legal Education on 6th July 2025 was attended by over 2500 lawyers, including the Bar president Afam Osigwe.
Before his appointment into Government, Tam-George was the executive director of the Institute of Communication and Corporate Studies in Lagos.
Education
Tam-George was a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts,USA, where he studied leadership and public policy
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He received his Ph.D. from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa in 2007 and attended the IESE Business School in Barcelona, where he studied communication and leadership in the International Faculty Programme in 2011.
Tam-George earned a master's degree in English from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1998).
Career
As an academic, he taught at
Pan-African University
The Pan-African University (PAU) is a network of post-graduate training and research nodes supported by the African Union and the Association of African Universities
The Association of African Universities (AAU) (, ) is a university associat ...
in Nigeria and at
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa.
Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
where he was an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Research Fellow.
In 2008, he worked as research consultant to the
New Partnership for Africa’s Development
The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is an economic development program of the African Union (AU). NEPAD was adopted by the AU at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia. ...
in its good governance monitoring projects across Africa.
Commissioner of Information and Communications
On 9 December 2015, the
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...
voted unanimously to confirm Tam-George as
Governor Wike's choice to succeed Ibim Semenitari as the
Commissioner of Information and Communications
The Rivers State Ministry of Information and Communications is a ministry within the Government of Rivers State that is entrusted with formulating and implementing strategies to develop and promote the media sector in the state. The ministry is al ...
.
On 18 December 2015, he was officially sworn into office.
See also
*
List of people from Rivers State
The following is a list of Wikipedia:Notability, notable people who were born in Rivers State, lived in Rivers State, or for whom Rivers State is a significant part of their identity.
A
*George Abbey (footballer), George Abbey (born 1978), ...
*
Information and Communications Technology
Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tam-George, Austin
Living people
Commissioners of ministries of Rivers State
People from Okrika
First Wike Executive Council
University of the Witwatersrand alumni
University of Navarra alumni
Academic staff of the University of Cape Town
Nigerian expatriates in Spain
Year of birth missing (living people)