SAHCO Boss Wins Leadership Award

Chinedu Eze
The Managing Director/CEO of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company PLC (SAHCO), Basil Agboarumi, has been presented with the Bob Ogbuagu Leadership Award at the 2019 Lagos PR Industry Gala and Awards (LaPRIGA). The event was oganised by the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), held in Lagos.

The award was named after late Chief Bob Ogbuagu, who was one of the pre-colonial leaders and founding father of the media profession in Nigeria, a founding member of the Zikist movement and one of the nationalists who were in the frontline in the struggle to free Nigeria from colonial rule.

Established in 1963 and Chartered in 1990, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations(NIPR) is the non-governmental, not-for-profit professional association of Public Relations practitioners charged to determine the standards of knowledge and skills needed to be attained by persons seeking to become registered members of the Public Relations profession and reviewing same standards from time to time. It has functioning Chapters in the 36 states of the Federation including Abuja.

The Lagos State Chapter, the leading and most populated branch of the institute accounting for nearly 60 percent of the Public Relations practitioners in Nigeria, inaugurated the LaPRIGA (Lagos PR Industry Gala and Awards), as the prestigious red bow-tie event that recognise excellence and celebrate practitioners in public and corporate organisations and stakeholders via awards dinner to boost professionalism and more investment in the practice
Agboarumi, a public relations practitioner was honoured for positively impacting the profession and inspiring young practitioners in the country through his leadership and professionalism in the communications sector.

He has been in the Public Relations profession for decades and was responsible for establishing the Public Affairs unit of SAHCO when it was carved out of the defunct Nigeria Airways with a mandate to spearhead the re-branding of the new company. He did this successfully, showcasing SAHCO as the world class ground handling company that it is.

He grew in the ranks to become the Managing Director/CEO of Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc, a feat that is uncommon in Nigeria, showing that public relations practitioners could also be c-suite professionals at the helm of affairs of their organisations.

In his acceptance speech, Agboarumi, appreciated the organisers and the Lagos chapter of NIPR for finding him worthy of honour and recognising his efforts at projecting the practice. He vowed to continue to do more to uphold the tenet and principles of Public Relations practice in the country so as to inspire more people.