Nigeria’s Bala Usman appointed VP, International Association of Ports and Harbors

Nigeria’s Hadiza Bala Usman, currently managing director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has been appointed vice president (Africa Region) of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH), the Tokyo, Japan based trade association for seaports.

Usman joins five other vice presidents from around the world on the governing body of the 62 years-old organisation.

Other vice presidents are Guimara Tunon Guerra from Central & South America, Molly Campbell, North America, Masaharu Shinohara, South/West, East & Middle East Asia, Martin Byrne, South East and Oceania, Asia and Peter Mollema from Europe, while Santiago Garcia Mila, from Spain, is the President of the association.

The Nigerian Ports Authority, in a statement, Wednesday, said its managing director is expected to assume her new office immediately and remain until the annual general meeting during the 2019 IAPH conference scheduled to hold in Guangzhou, China.

Bala Usman expressed delight at the election which she says is in recognition of Nigeria’s strategic importance in the global maritime map and efforts of the NPA to reposition the sector.

She pledged to justify the confidence of members of the association and make Nigeria proud in the period of her service at the IAPH.

Founded in 1955, the IAPH is a non-governmental organisation which represents the interest of ports across the world.

It has a membership of over 200 ports and national port representative bodies and recently acquired a consultative status with five United Nations agencies including, the United Nations Economic & Social Council, United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO); United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); the International Labour Office (ILO) and the World Customs Organization (WCO).