By Eniola Idris
The smart and agile Port Manager of Lagos Ports Complex (Apapa), Mrs Olufunmilayo Olotu, has emerged the ‘Best Performing Port Manager’ in Nigeria.
The award, conferred on Olotu by Renner & Renner Consulting, a firm registered in Nigeria to manage the HCD deficit and spearhead resolution of 21st Century Human Capital Development challenges, further established her unparalleled problem solving acumen and creative managerial skills.
At the just concluded strategic retreat organised for the top management cadre in Lagos, the acting Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko, was also honoured with the visionary leadership award while the Executive Director Engineering, Prof. Idris Abubakar was honoured with the exemplary leadership award.
Olotu, who was the 26th manager of the premier port, resumed office on July 2, 2019, and she had since turned the challenged port complex around for better performance.
She was also bestowed with the outstanding Strategic Retreat Coordinator award.
She resumed in Apapa Port, having spent three years in the mantle of leadership at Calabar Port.
Other awardees include the Executive Director, Marine and Operations Hon. Onari Brown, who won the outstanding contribution award; Assistant General Manager, Corporate & Strategic Planning, Ngozi Obikili got the outstanding Strategic Retreat Coordinator award.
Also awarded were the Technical Assistant Admin to the Managing Director, (former PM Onne) Ismaila Alhassan got the most inspirational Port Manager award. Port Manager, Tin Can Island Ports Complex, Yunusa Anji got the most resourceful Port Manager; General Manager, Marine & Operations, Captain Jerome Angyunwe was awarded with the Most Innovative General Manager.
Others are: the General Manager Procurement, Musa Yaro was presented with the Most Inspirational General Manager award; while the General Manager, Tariff and Billing, Abubakar Umar and General Manager, Human Resources Mrs Hariratu Mohammed were awarded with the Most Insightful General Manager and Most Enterprising General Manager awards respectively.
While commenting on the awards of excellence presented at the end of the retreat, the Bello Koko admonished participants not to regard the retreat as a jamboree, but an avenue for further improvements and to reposition the organisation for competitiveness and innovativeness.
The NPA boss said: “I expect that this retreat churns out specific, realistic, measurable, achievable and time-bound goals and objectives by which we would be benchmarking ourselves into the next five years.
“The Authority’s vision of becoming the leading Port in Africa is achievable, but we must never forget the seminal words of organisational behaviours expert, Professor Lee Bolman that a vision without strategy remains an illusion. I say this to underscore the importance of this retreat.
“The last time an event of this magnitude was held to chart a new direction for the Authority was over a decade ago where our present vision, mission and core values were crafted.
“We must therefore go beyond rhetoric to churn out implementable strategies aimed at making us equal to the exigencies of the very competitive edge and sector that we operate in,” he stated.
