About
Anna Philemon Dara
A daughter of the Federal Capital Territory whose public life has been built on preparation, integrity and service — first in the private sector, then in public institutions, and now in community advocacy and leadership development.
Official portrait of Anna Philemon Dara.
Rooted here
Anna Philemon Dara was born in December 1975 to Mr. Philemon Dara and Mrs. Juma Philemon Dara, both Justices of the Peace, and grew up as the second of five children in a home where public standing was inseparable from personal conduct.
She is Gbagyi — an original inhabitant of the Federal Capital Territory — and her relationship with AMAC and Bwari is one of belonging rather than arrival.
She speaks Gbagyi as her mother tongue, along with Hausa, English and Igala, and has a working knowledge of French.
“I am not coming to AMAC and Bwari. I am coming from AMAC and Bwari.”
- Gbagyi — Mother tongue
- Hausa
- English
- Igala
- French — Working knowledge
Upbringing
A household where conduct came first
Her parents' service as Justices of the Peace shaped a set of expectations that have stayed constant through every stage of her career.
Integrity
Discipline
Hard work
Service
Responsibility
Education & national service
University of Abuja, then service in Karu
Anna completed a BSc in Administration at the University of Abuja in 2002, and served in the National Youth Service Corps at the New Karu Local Government Secretariat between 2004 and 2005.
Career
A decade in the private sector, then public institutions
Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited
From 2006, Anna spent more than a decade at Total E&P Nigeria Limited, working across several functions:
- Government Relations
- Media and Corporate Affairs
- Independent Power Project
- Domestic Gas portfolio
- Personal Assistant to the Executive Director, Oil and Gas Commercial
Public sector
In 2018 she moved into public service through the National Directorate of Employment, with subsequent secondment experience at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, including the Joint Ventures Directorate and the NNPC Leadership Academy.
Across both sectors the same capabilities carried over:
- Institutional understanding
- Stakeholder management
- Government-industry engagement
- Coordination
- Administration
- Working across different interests
- Decision-making discipline
Public journey
A record of the path so far
Only verified milestones are listed. Further detail is added as it is confirmed.
1975
Born in December
Born to Mr. Philemon Dara and Mrs. Juma Philemon Dara, both Justices of the Peace. The second of five children.
2002
BSc Administration, University of Abuja
Undergraduate study completed at the University of Abuja.
2004–2005
National Youth Service
Served at the New Karu Local Government Secretariat.
2006
Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited
Began a professional career spanning more than a decade in the private sector.
2018
Entry into the public sector
Moved into public service through the National Directorate of Employment.
Subsequent
Secondment to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
Secondment experience including the Joint Ventures Directorate and the NNPC Leadership Academy.
2026
Public service and political participation
Sought the APC nomination for the House of Representatives, AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency.
Post-nomination
Community advocacy and leadership development
Continued focus on community advocacy, civic organising and leadership development.
How Anna thinks about public service
Preparation. Integrity. Service. Institutions.
01
Preparation
Public leadership is a reading job before it is a speaking job.
Study, mastery of the file, understanding budgets and procedure, knowing how decisions are actually made, knowing what you propose in detail, documentation and patience. Preparation is what allows an advocate to be useful in a room rather than merely present in it.
02
Integrity
A daily discipline rather than a public gesture.
Integrity is built long before responsibility arrives, in decisions no one is watching. It is a standard to work from, not an achievement to announce.
“Integrity is your floor, not your ceiling.”
03
Service
There is a difference between wanting office and wanting service.
Office is a position. Service is a habit of showing up, carrying responsibility and staying with a problem after the attention has moved on.
“Nigeria is full of people who want office. It is hungry for people who want service.”
04
Institutions
Advocacy only endures when an institution can convert it into an outcome.
Speeches, campaigns and public argument matter, but they create lasting value only where budgets, procedures and administrative capacity can carry them through. That is where sustained civic attention belongs.
“The country is rebuilt in offices as much as it is rebuilt at podiums.”
The commitment
Listening before speaking
“I will listen before I speak. I will work before I claim credit.”
Anna sought the APC nomination for the House of Representatives, AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency, in 2026. Since then her focus has been community advocacy, civic organising and leadership development — work that continues regardless of office.
See the work in pictures