Nigerian Ports Authority Positioning Ladies At Core Of Maritime Transformation, Says MD Dantsoho
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has declared that ladies at the moment are on the forefront of driving innovation, operational effectivity and long-term transformation in Nigeria’s maritime sector, because the Authority intensifies efforts to dismantle institutional boundaries and deepen gender inclusion.
An announcement made accessible to THISDAY in Abuja on Thursday defined that Dantsoho acknowledged this on the 2026 Worldwide Ladies’s Day celebration in Apapa, Lagos.
Dantsoho mentioned the NPA had moved past symbolic recognition of ladies’s contributions to intentionally positioning them as key actors within the company’s modernisation agenda.
He described the occasion as a vital second not solely to have a good time girls, however to reaffirm their strategic significance to the way forward for port operations and nationwide {economic} development.
“It’s a privilege to face right here in Apapa, the heartbeat of Nigerian commerce, to have a good time the true engine room of this Authority, our girls,” he mentioned.
Dantsoho harassed that feminine professionals throughout the NPA are now not confined to conventional roles, however are actively shaping coverage, managing advanced commerce techniques, strengthening infrastructure and main the transition to a technology-driven port atmosphere.
Based on him, girls have turn out to be indispensable to the Authority’s quest to construct a globally aggressive port system, noting that their contributions reduce throughout technical, administrative and management ranges.
“After I look throughout this organisation, I see greater than a workforce. I see professionals breaking boundaries, engineers sustaining vital infrastructure, and leaders redefining excellence in maritime operations,” he mentioned.
Anchoring his remarks on this yr’s Worldwide Ladies’s Day theme, “Give-To-Acquire,” the NPA boss referred to as for concrete actions to develop alternatives for ladies, insisting that inclusion should translate into measurable outcomes.
“This can be a name to motion. It challenges us to maneuver past rhetoric and implement insurance policies that assure equal entry to management, development and alternative,” he added.
Dantsoho emphasised that regardless of the maritime sector’s long-standing male dominance, the NPA is leveraging the mental capability, resilience and professionalism of its feminine workforce to stay aggressive in an evolving world commerce atmosphere.
He maintained that ladies are now not on the periphery of the Authority’s success story however are firmly at its core, contributing considerably to each strategic decision-making and day-to-day port operations.
“From the boardroom to the quayside, your affect is clear. You stability demanding careers with private tasks, but proceed to ship outcomes that maintain this organisation’s excellence,” he mentioned.
Reaffirming administration’s dedication, Dantsoho disclosed that the Authority is implementing deliberate insurance policies to remove structural constraints that hinder girls’s development, whereas selling a merit-based system that rewards competence and efficiency.
“We’re constructing an establishment the place expertise speaks louder than gender, the place girls rise based mostly on advantage, exhausting work and functionality. That’s the future we’re dedicated to,” he acknowledged.
He additionally inspired feminine workers to maintain their momentum and proceed to problem limitations, assuring them that the organisation recognises and values their contributions.
“Your management is seen, your affect is simple, and your future inside this Authority is limitless,” he mentioned.
Dantsoho additional linked girls’s empowerment throughout the NPA to broader nationwide growth targets, arguing that strengthening girls’s roles in vital sectors comparable to maritime would unlock new {economic} alternatives and improve Nigeria’s world competitiveness.
Based on him, investing in girls isn’t solely an organisational precedence however a nationwide crucial.
“Once we empower girls, we strengthen establishments, deepen productiveness and develop the frontiers of nationwide growth. The maritime sector stands to realize immensely from this inclusive method,” he added.
He concluded by urging stakeholders throughout the maritime business to undertake comparable inclusive frameworks that recognise and harness the total potential of ladies, noting that sustainable development within the sector would rely largely on how properly gender fairness is built-in into coverage and observe.
“As we have a good time right now, let it function a reminder that empowering girls is not only about equity, it’s about unlocking the total potential of our maritime business and securing a stronger future for Nigeria,” he mentioned.
Sunday Aborisade
Times Nigeria