Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, on Wednesday, formerly kicked off the 2019 edition of the Nigerian Ports Authority Sport Association (NIPOSA) games, with a promise that the competition would be sustained beyond the current administration.
The NPA NIPOSA games was resuscitated in 2018 after 17 years of inactivity.
Speaking during the opening ceremony held at the NPA Sports Ground, Bode Thomas in Lagos, Usman said the NPA management would continue to back sporting events as it provides an avenue to foster unity not just within NPA but among industry stakeholders.
The NPA MD said she is impressed with the number of participating teams at this year’s competition, urging other operators in the industry to join in the sporting activities.
“Sporting activities provide an avenue for the staff to be united, loyal and committed to their organizations. So we have put in place institutional mechanism to ensure that the NIPOSA games is sustained and it lived beyond our administration because it is part of what is required to build an institution, to motivate the staff and encourage them.
I believe with the structures we have developed; the staff that will outlive our administration will be here to continue this tradition.
“I am impressed with the competition. It shows it is improving and increasing by the year. I am quite impressed and I will like to call on other terminal operators and other industry stakeholders to join so that we can also have a robust engagement,” she said.
While commending the authority’s workforce for rewarding the management’s effort at promoting sports with outstanding performances in internal and external competitions, Usman assured that the management would provide necessary support to the NPA football team to ensure it retained the Maritime Cup trophy it won in 2018 in the upcoming Annual Maritime Cup competition organised by SHIPS & PORTS.
“We won the Maritime Cup last year after 10 years and I believe that this year, we will retain the cup. I am excited and I am giving the necessary support to the Nigerian Ports Authority team to ensure they win again,” she said.
Usman used the occasion to commission the newly refurbished sports facilities including the NPA Club House, lawn tennis court and basket ball court.
She said the rehabilitation and upgrading of the facility, apart from providing an environment for recreation and relaxation for the workforce, would also serve as NPA’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to its host communities.
General Manager, Human Resources and Chairman of Central NIPOSA, Yahaya Gana Bukar, commended the Hadiza bala Usman-led NPA management for rehabilitating sport facilities across the authority.
He appealed to the management to sustain the steady updating of the facilities to bring the complex to best standard and a pride to the ports and the entire maritime community.
15 teams including the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Shippers Council, APM Terminals Apapa, Tin Can Island Container Terminal (TICT) and Lagos Channel Management (LCM) are participating in this year’s competition.