President Buhari appoints Obinna Awiaka as Registrar of ODORBN

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Dr Obinna Awiaka as the Registrar of the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Registration Board of Nigeria (ODORBN) with effect from 1st June 2023.

ODORBN is the agency statutorily saddled with the responsibility of regulating the training and practice of Optometry and Dispensing Opticianry in Nigeria.

Minister of State for Health, Hon. Joseph Ekumankama, who presented the approval letter to Dr Awiaka at a brief ceremony yesterday in, Abuja, charged the new Registrar to focus on carrying all stakeholders along, reconciling and working harmoniously with all parties to move the agency forward, embrace innovation and seek ways of improving existing systems rather than reinventing the wheels.

Ekumankama congratulated him for a well-deserved appointment which according to the Minister was based on merit and urged him to see his appointment as a call to service

He expressed optimism that Dr Awiaka will justify the confidence reposed in him by the President and the Ministry by leaving indelible marks at the Board.

In his response, Dr Awiaka expressed gratitude to Mr President, and the Minister for finding him worthy to serve as Registrar, while extolling the vision, passion and integrity of the Minister whom he saw as a model for public officers. He commended the Minister on his workaholic nature and style of leadership, and also for his ability to spot the best of hands to work with him at the ministry as reflected in the caliber of workforce surrounding the Ministry.

The newly appointed Registrar, Dr Awiaka, promised to serve with diligence and to improve on his predecessor’s achievements while breaking new ground.

Dr Awiaka, a seasoned administrator and an astute entrepreneur, obtained his Doctor of Optometry ( OD) degree from the prestigious University of Benin in 1999. He started his professional career with the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital Ojo, Lagos and has over 23 years of professional experience spanning across both private and public sector engagements. An alumnus of the prestigious Lagos Business School and a Fellow of the Nigerian Optometric Association, he is widely travelled and possesses a repertoire of 21st-century industry-leading information and skills needed for transformational leadership and management.

Until his appointment, he was the CEO of Eyemasters Limited, Nigeria’s biggest Optical Chain, and also the President of the Nigerian Optometric Association ( NOA) an umbrella body of over 5000 doctors of Optometry in Nigeria. In this later capacity, his administration has made unprecedented strides including initiating and completing the acquisition and commissioning of the first fully owned National Secretariat of the association in Abuja.

Dr Awiaka assured me that he will bring to his new portfolio a track record of excellence and capacity.