Najomo, Kuku shines again, clinches Man, CEO of the year awards
The two leading figures in the country’s aviation sector, the Director General, Civil Aviation, Captain Chris Najomo and the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku have again been recognized for their sterling performances and innovations that has improve the rating and lot of the country’s aviation sector since their assumption of office.
The duo was honoured at the 4th Annual Air Transport Quarterly (ATQ) Magazine Industry Awards at a ceremony in the chart home the Man of the Year and Chief Executive Officer of the year 2024 awards.
The event, which has become a benchmark for excellence in the aviation industry, brought together top industry stakeholders, professionals, and decision-makers to celebrate outstanding achievements and innovations.
Award winners in various described the ceremony as the grand celebration of the aviation industry’s finest as the evening was filled with excitement, entertainment, and networking opportunities, as the crème de la crème of the industry gathered to honor the best of the best.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director General, Capt. Chris Najomo was the cynosure of the evening as he clinched the ‘ATQ Man of The Year 2024’.
Beaming with joy and excitement at the occasion, the trained pilot, who was recently confirmed by the National Assembly as the substantive helmsman of the NCAA, expressed appreciation to the ATQ management and staff for honouring him with the prestigious award.
While dedicating the award to the entire management and staff of the NCAA, the DG said it would spur him to render more valuable service to the aviation subsector, especially in the area of sanitization of the industry for efficiency, safety of lives and property.
On her part, Kuku’s meritorious achievement in reengineering the faces and facilities of the country’s airports earned her the prestigious ‘Aviation Industry Chief Executive Officer of the Year 2024’ for her unprecedented works.
Other notable awardees at the event include Director General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike who received the award for ‘Excellence in Weather Forecast’ by the agency over the years, the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO), bagged the ‘Logistics Innovation Award, in Cargo handling, and it counterpart, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), was honoured with the ‘Ground Handling Company of the Year 2024’.
Other awards were the Regional Manager of the year 2024 which was bestowed on the enterprising Oluwabukola Aduragbemi Teriba, (Esq), the Regional Manager, Lagos at the NCAA, the President, Federal Ministry of Transport and Aviation ( FMT&A), Cooperative Society, Pastor Akinola Olaposi, grabbed the award for ‘the Aviation Cooperative Innovator of the year’ while the Managing Director/CEO of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Engr. Farouk Ahmed Umar received the ‘Beacon of Innovative Air Safety Leadership of the Year 2024’.
Also on the honourees lists was the former DG, Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Engr. Akin Olateru who bagged a ‘Life Time Achievement Award’, for the terrific job he carried out when he held sway at the accident investigation house, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Comptroller General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, bagged a ‘Transformation Leadership Award’ while Nigerian leading financial giant Zenith Bank Limited, under the leadership of Adaora Umeoji, was awarded the ‘Beacon of Technological Innovation in Banking Industry’.
The rest include the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, the renowned institution was recognised with the ‘Diamond Anniversary Award for Education & Training’ while the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, bagged the ‘Outstanding Star Leadership Award in Aviation’.
Domestic airlines were not left of the awards as Nigerian’s leading airline, Ibom Air was emerged the nation’s ‘The Airline of the Year 2024’, Alhaji Sadiq Shared Anako won the award for Leadership in Aviation Cooperative Governance of the year, just as National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) completed the pack taking home ‘The Most Resilient Aviation Trade Union of the Year 2024″, amongst others.
