The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko says the Champion Newspaper Awards of Outstanding Government Agency for 2023 and Public Servant of the Year 2023 bestowed on NPA and him are a reflection of the transformative reforms his administration has undertaken since assuming office.
Mohammed Bello Koko made this known on X while reflecting on the significance of the two awards given to NPA and him in Lagos over the weekend.
According to him, Last night, my team and I were honoured to receive the Champion Newspaper Award for “Outstanding Government Agency for 2023,” and I was humbled to be recognized as the “Public Servant of the Year 2023” by the newspaper.
These recognitions reflect the transformative reforms we have undertaken since assuming office. Just last month, we signed a Citibank Mandate Letter of $700 million to fully modernize the Apapa and TinCan Ports, and we are actively pursuing funding from other multilateral agencies to revamp additional ports in Onne, Rivers, Calabar, and the Escravos breakwater. We are taking all necessary measures to open up the Eastern Ports for enhanced capacity.
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We are also at an advanced stage of deploying the Port Community System, a trade facilitation tool that allows for the exchange of trade information.
Also, in partnership with NLNG Shipping Ltd., we are deploying the Vessel Tracking System later this year to track all vessel activities in all channels and within the port limits. Ultimately, this will help us prevent any form of revenue loss.
Port automation, aids to navigation (AtoN), and marine equipment renewal within the Nigerian port ecosystem remain top priorities for us, as these initiatives will revolutionize port operations in Nigeria, fostering competitiveness and driving development and innovation.
We also remain committed to maintaining the successes recorded at clearing the port access roads from Mile 2 to TinCanand Apapa, which have been impassable for over a decade, severely disrupting traffic flow.
As the country emphasizes non-oil exports, ensuring unimpeded access to the ports will preserve the quality of these exports, enabling them to reach their destinations in record time.
Our unwavering dedication to enhancing safe and efficient navigation and port operations in Nigeria remains steadfast. This award, therefore, is not only a recognition of the work we do but also a catalyst for us to do more.
MWUN PG congratulates NPA MD, SIFAX Chairman on awards and appointment
The President-General of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju has showered encomium on the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko, over the “Public Servant of the Year 2023” and the “Outstanding Government Agency of the Year 2023” bestowed on him and NPA respectively by the Champion Newspaper.
The 2023 Champion Newspaper Award was held on Saturday May 25, 2024 in Lagos.
Comrade Adewale Adeyanju averred that for the management of Champion Newspapers Limited to bestow the awards on both NPA and its Managing Director exemplifies that Mohammed Bello Koko is not a mean administrator. “Alhaji Koko is deeply rooted in the Maritime sector, an extra ordinary administrator of note; hence, his germaine expertise has brought so much reforms of development to the Maritime sector.”
President-General (PG) Adeyanju, who also is the Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), was of the view that Koko still has a lot to offer the industry, “his double awards are no flukes but a charge for more development in the maritime sector.”
In similar vein, Adeyanju congratulated Dr. Taiwo OlayinkaAfolabi (MoN) for his appointment as the first Chancellor of Gerar University of Medical Sciences, Imope-Ijebu, Ogun State.
Comrade Adeyanju said the appointment of Dr. Taiwo Afolabias the pioneer Chancellor of the Gerar University of Medical Sciences is a result of his love for academic excellence, research and development for the growth for quality education in the country.
SIFAX Chairman advocates review of medical staff salary at investiture as Chancellor
Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Chairman, SIFAX Group, has called on the government to improve the remuneration of health workers in the country to stem the tide of migration of doctors and other health workers out of Nigeria.
While speaking at his investiture as the Chancellor of GerarUniversity of Medical Sciences, Imope-Ijebu, Ogun State, Afolabi said this mass migration of health professionals, especially doctors and nurses, out of Nigeria has negatively affected the country’s health care delivery.
He said that the ugly trend must be frontally tackled by the government and further noted that aside from the provision of modern equipment and tools at public health facilities across the country to improve service rendered, priority attention must also be devoted to the welfare of these dispirited health professionals who are left in the country.
He said: “Many of our competent medical hands have been lost to countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia among other developed economies where sufficient encouragement in terms of remuneration, modern work tools, and a conducive working environment have been provided to attract talents from all over the world.
“This migration by young Nigerians has negatively affected almost every sector of the country, but it is safe to conclude that the health sector has been the biggest victim of this JAPA syndrome. The few doctors, nurses, and other health professionals that are left in the country are overworked and grossly underpaid when compared to their counterparts globally.
“This has negatively impacted the quality of services patients could access in our public health institutions. Our governments, at all levels, need to be strategic and proactive in tackling this menace. Pay for health workers must be improved while a conducive environment that will make them thrive and be fulfilled professionally must be provided.”
Afolabi, who lauded the proprietor and management of the specialized institution for their foresight in establishing the university at a time the country needs to produce more quality health workers, said Gerar University of Medical Sciences has the capacity to become a reference point and a centre of excellence in medical education and research in the country.
Prof. Niyi Adetoro, the institution’s Vice Chancellor, said the new university will leverage technology and innovation to drive its vision, adding that the support of corporate organisations and public-spirited individuals will be required to support the university’s ambitious vision, which has necessitated an endowment fund of N500 million. Good
