From left: Port Manager, Lagos Port Complex, Mr. Charles Okaga; Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Hon. Onari Brown; winner of the Lagos Port Complex Apapa Employee Quarterly Merit Award (July-September 2023), Michael Emmanuel and Assistant General Manager, Marine of NPA, Capt. Eboreime Uduiguomen at the Employee Quarterly Merit Award and Retirees Appreciation Day held at the LPC, Wednesday.

Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko has commended the management of the Lagos Ports Complex LPC, Apapa led by the Port Manager, Charles Okaga over the introduction of several performance incentives for members of staff of the port to boost efficiency and reward hard work.

Speaking at the maiden edition of the Lagos Port Employee Quarterly Merit Award and Retirees Appreciation Day in Apapa, Wednesday, Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Hon. Onari Brown, who represented the Managing Director, noted that ensuring the welfare and wellbeing of the human resource element would continue to receive priority attention of the management under his watch.

The MD therefore commended the LPC management for its decision to celebrate excellent employee-performance, which would go a long way in enhancing diligence, efficiency and overall service delivery at the seaports. He argued that the quarterly merit award would spur greater productivity of the staffers at the premier port.

The MD, who also took out time to shower encomiums of the staffers, commended them for keying behind the management team in its desire to enthrone a regime of efficiency, diligence and promptness at the workplace.

“I am sure that many of you knew who the employee of the quarter was before he was unveiled today, I want to believe that you knew, but you supported it and accepted the person that emerged. That means that the process of his emergence was credible, transparent and honest. The NPA management will continue to support efforts to boost employees’ morale at all time”, Bello-Koko assured.

Meanwhile, the LPC Port Manager, Okaga, who spoke earlier at the event, noted that the decision to institute the award was informed by the need to recognise and appreciate outstanding contributions of LPC staffers, reward their excellence, innovation and dedication to work, which would ultimately boost efficiency and service delivery.

“The award is anchored on some criteria, which include punctuality, dedication to duty, creativity and adherence to established dress code, among others. It is designed to motivate the employees to work harder and enhance productivity in the Nigerian Ports Authority as a whole.

“As a management at the LPC, we deemed it very important to recognise and appreciate hardworking employees in order to boost their morale and encourage them to reach new heights of success”, the Port Manager, who assumed duty April this year said.

He also appreciated retired workers of the port for the wisdom, experience and significant contributions they made to the system while in service, saying that the parting gifts comprising fans, water dispensers, microwave ovens and refrigerators given to the retiring workers was a way of saying thank you for a job well done.

On the whole, a total of 10 staffers retired from the port and were appreciated at the event while Michael Emmanuel, a senior statistician with the Corporate and Strategic Planning division was unveiled at the Employee of the quarter. The retirees include Shehu Zakari Dauda (Procurement), Ohizu Bernard (Fire Service), Fulani Samuel (Harbour), Ejiogu Charity (Health), Igwe Oluchi (Human Resources) and Ogboto Edwin (Engineering).

General Manager Marine, who was represented by Captain Eboreime Uduiguomen praised the LPC management under Okaga for the making the employees the centre-piece of its policy thrust and enjoined the workers to reciprocate the good gesture of the management to do more in the various fields of work.

A high point of the event was the presentation of gift items to the retirees, who also took out their turns to express their appreciation to the management for choosing to reward them for their services to the port industry.

One of the retirees, Mrs Victoria Fasakin, who was a senior technical officer at the Engineering department, who thanked God for seeing her through the 35-year career in NPA, also praised the efforts of the new Port Manager, who she admitted had done well within the short period of time he took over.

She however enjoined him not to relent in this good work that he has started and also encouraged the workers to see the improved welfare as a boost to do more, admonishing the younger generations not to do anything that would tarnish the good image of the authority.

“It is a good and joyful thing to retire but it is more joyful and dignifying to retire well and happy”, Mrs Fasakin said.