The Chairman of Sifax Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi has expressed grief over the demise of the Chairman, Nigerian Port Consultative Council (NPCC), Chief Kunle Folarin.
Describing the death of Folarin as a “great loss” to the Nigeria’s maritime industry, Afolabi in a condolence message stated that the late Chairman of the NPCC who died at the age of 85 was a “maritime encyclopedia” due to his wealth of experience and expertise about the sector as well as his willingness to share his intellectual resources with others.
His words: “I recall his outstanding performance when he graciously served as the keynote speaker at the 3rd edition of the Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime Conference where he spoke passionately about the place of port costs and charges in the overall port reform regime in Nigeria. It was indeed an enlightening session where he brought to bear his depth of knowledge and experience to proffer workable solutions to this recurring problem. Even at a short notice for the conference’s 4th edition, Otunba Kunle Folarin’s insights as a panelist became a key highlight of the occasion.”
A statement signed by the Group Head, Corporate Communications, Mr. Muyiwa Akande and made available to Maritime Bits quoted Afolabi saying that the demise of Folarin has left a huge gap in the country’s maritime watchdog space, adding that the sector will greatly miss his bold personality and intellectual approach to industry discourse.
Continuing, he said: “His death has depleted the tribe of knowledgeable maritime professionals in Nigeria with a razor-sharp intellectual bent who are never afraid to speak truth to power in a bid to reposition and maximise opportunities in the country’s maritime industry for the overall good of the nation’s economy.”
Afolabi appealed to NPCC and all Folarin’s allies to sustain the advocacy for a better maritime industry in Nigeria for which the deceased was noted for.
