The newly inaugurated chairman of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Lagos State branch, Gbolahan Kabiawu, has said his administration will engage government strategically, empower young medical laboratory scientists intentionally, strengthen mentorship, and engage hospital management respectfully.

While he expressed commitment to pursuing continuous professional development seriously, he vowed to defend the integrity of the profession intelligently.

Kabiawu, who said this during his investiture as the 15th Chairman of AMLSN and inauguration of other executives, said for the past 100 days, the association has been deliberate in strengthening internal structure, re-establishing professional discipline, building unity, and accelerating the profession’s advancement.

He expressed his commitment to leading with integrity, transparency, and influence, even when authority is limited.

Noting that it was a new era for AMLSN Lagos, Kabiawu declared that the branch would be strategically organised, professionally assertive, development-focused, project-driven, and future-ready.

He challenged young medical laboratory scientists to be up and doing at all times by leading with excellence, knowledge, discipline, and punctuality.

In their keynote addresses, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Establishments and Training, Lagos State, Olubusola Abidakun, who spoke on
‘Influencing Without Authority: The Leadership Strategies’, said it was about influencing others through relationships, empathy, credibility,y and effective communication.

She described the theme as a technique and approach used to inspire, motivate and persuade others to achieve a common goal without relying on formal power or positional authority.

Hinting at the four Ls of leadership – Loving, Listening, Learning, and Leading, Abidakun cited data that reveals that influence-based leadership yields twice higher commitment levels than purely authoritative models, urging the new leadership to build alliances that could build forth support.

Similarly, Dean, Postgraduate School, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof. Ibrahim Olateju, who spoke on ‘Accelerating Medical Laboratory Advancements in Nigeria: A Project Management Approach’, urged that the new leadership must be up and doing as well as apply a high level of emotional intelligence in their operations.

Speaking on the five pillars of project management, the don made a call to action that the leadership must develop a five-year laboratory plan, standardise Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) from specimen collection, pursue public-private partnerships (PPP) arrangements, prioritise members’ welfare, career development, and other programmes.