By Sandra Chukwunyere
President of the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN) and *Assistant Editor of *Shipping Position Daily*, *Oluyinka Onigbinde*, has been honoured with the *Maritime Reporter of the Year Award* at the 12th Nigerian Transport Lecture and Awards organised by *Transport Day Media*.
The award, presented before an audience of key stakeholders in Nigeria’s transport and maritime sectors, recognised Onigbinde’s outstanding contributions to maritime journalism, his consistency in reporting the industry, and his commitment to promoting informed discourse on Nigeria’s maritime and transport sectors.
The recognition came during the annual Nigerian Transport Lecture, one of the country’s foremost gatherings of policymakers, regulators, transport operators, academics and journalists, where critical issues affecting the transport industry are examined and excellence within the sector is celebrated.
This year’s lecture, themed *”Intermodal Transportation Safety in Nigeria: Prospects, Challenges and Contributions to National Growth,”* featured a keynote address by former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, who called for stronger measures to improve safety across Nigeria’s transport system.
Onigbinde’s emergence as Maritime Reporter of the Year was widely applauded by industry stakeholders, who described the award as a fitting recognition of his years of dedication to objective, investigative and impactful maritime journalism.
Over the years, Onigbinde has built a reputation for in-depth reports, policy analyses, exclusive interviews and balanced coverage of Nigeria’s ports, shipping, customs administration, freight forwarding, logistics and the blue economy.
Aside from his role as Assistant Editor of *Shipping Position Daily*, Onigbinde recently assumed office as President of MARAN, where he has pledged to promote professionalism, strengthen collaboration between the media and maritime stakeholders, and advance credible, ethical maritime journalism in Nigeria.
Speaking shortly after receiving the award, Onigbinde expressed appreciation to the organisers for the recognition, describing it as both humbling and motivating.
He dedicated the award to members of MARAN, his colleagues at *Shipping Position Daily*, his mentors, industry stakeholders and everyone who has supported his journalism career over the years.
According to him, the recognition serves as a renewed challenge to continue pursuing factual, balanced and impactful journalism that contributes to the growth and development of Nigeria’s maritime and transport sectors.
He also reaffirmed his commitment to upholding the highest ethical standards of journalism while supporting initiatives aimed at improving efficiency, transparency, safety and sustainable development within the nation’s maritime industry.
The latest recognition adds to the growing list of honours received by Onigbinde for his contributions to maritime journalism and comes at a time when he is leading MARAN with a vision centred on professionalism, capacity building and constructive engagement with stakeholders across the maritime industry.
The Transport Day Media Awards are regarded as one of the transport sector’s notable platforms for recognising individuals and organisations whose work has significantly advanced Nigeria’s transport ecosystem through policy, innovation, advocacy, operational excellence and media coverage.
