LADOL rides on business experience of professionals to achieve set targets

Lagos Deep offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), a 100 percent indigenous owned industrial Free Zone located near Apapa harbor has brought local and international economists and professionals onboard the top management cadre of the company, to help it achieve its set targets of delivery quality logistics services in Nigeria’s maritime and oil & gas service sector.

The professionals, who were brought as advisory board members, are expected to help the company in achieving its ambition of making Nigeria the hub for maritime and oil & gas business in West Africa and guide the company towards creating hundreds of thousands of jobs for Nigerians.

Members of the newly constituted advisory board include Mark Malloch-Brown, a former number two in the United Nations, who has served in the British Cabinet and Foreign Office. He remains deeply involved in international affairs especially in changes in Nigeria’s development, business and politics.

Others include Fidelis Oditah, a Queen’s Counsel, who practices in both English and Nigerian chambers, specialises in chancery and commercial work with emphasis on company, insolvency and restructuring work. While Tanimu Yakubu, a former chief economic adviser to President Yar’Adua. He was behind the setting up of the nation’s first Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Lagos over the weekend, Amy Jadesimi, managing director of LADOL said that the new advisory board members are not only people of highest integrity, but those who have distinguished themselves in their professional achievement and business development.

“They have the needed business acumen that will help LADOL to overcome the challenges, which many Nigerian companies face in achieving human capital and infrastructural development as well as finding the right business strategies that would move the company forward,” she states.

According to her, the advisory board would have the responsibility of overseeing the entire Free Zone by guiding the development of the Free Zone, which is expected to help LADOL achieve its mission. “The advisory board does not have impact on the day-to-day management of the business. Their role is to strictly guide us and make sure that we stay on top because our business has international interaction, and the way in which we go out to the world is very important and that is where is expected to play a critical role.”

Ladi Jadesimi, chairman of LADOL, who applauded the advisory board members for coming to assist the company at this critical stage of development, and to help the company to realise the potentials it’s been working towards since the past 10 years.

“The oil and gas business has remained critical today than before because the fall in crude oil price actually has tremendous opportunities for Nigeria to start adding value to the crude and compensate for the price lost. This will provide raw materials for petrochemical industry and create countless jobs because for any economy to grow on a sustainable basis, it has to be a productive economy,” he said.

The LADOL chairman, who said that offshore oil and gas industry requires a suitable asset for integration and fabrication related activities, said such facility will help Nigeria have a robust, thriving and competitive offshore support industry. “For LADOL to be able to participate now, and surmount critical challenges facing businesses in Nigeria, we need to have onboard, persons who can assist us in this project.”
AMAKA ANAGOR