By Gabriel Dike
Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Emzor Pharmaceuticals Limited, Dr. Stella Okoli, has expressed delight at her selection as The Sun Business Personality of the Year 2016, promising that the award would make her and members of her staff to perform better.
Speaking yesterday when a delegation from The Sun visited Emzor Pharmaceuticals’ corporate head office, in Isolo, Lagos, to present a letter formally notifying Okoli of her award, the Emzor boss said the award would serve as a motivational factor in her company’s determination to produce the best drugs available at the right cost.
An elated Okoli told The Sun team that the award came to her as surprise, as she “didn’t know that the little things she and her staff are doing in this small place have been noticed by one of the leading newspapers in the country.”
She also said: ‘’Thank you for recognising me. It is actual a surprise to me. We are just performing our legitimate duty, not knowing that we have done enough to get an award. There are so many things to achieve and this award will certainly spur my staff and I to work harder. As you have bestowed this award on me, you are encouraging us to do better.”
She showered encomium on The Sun management team, stressing that the newspaper is doing well.
Okoli made a case for the mentoring of young people, saying they are the future of the nation.
Earlier in his remarks, the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, The Sun Publishing Limited, Mr. Eric Osagie, said the Business Personality of the Year award is bestowed on a “Chief Executive of a business organisation or a top business manager, who, despite obvious challenges that confront businesses in Nigeria, has displayed unparalleled acumen at value creation and service delivery in ways that have impacted positively on the nation’s economy.”
He said The Sun Board of Editors voted Okoli as Business Personality of the Year, for pioneering Emzor Pharmaceuticals Ltd and taking the company to an enviable position in the industry.
Osagie, who was represented by Editor, Daily Sun, Onuoha Ukeh, acknowledged the commitment of the Emzor boss to the pharmaceutical industry and the economic development of the nation.
He said Okoli was selected for the award for successfully building “the company into one of Nigeria’s top corporate and respected indigenous pharmaceutical brands,” adding: “Year after year, you have continued to achieve tremendous success in your entrepreneurial stride. Your inspiring business story is due for recognition.’’
He used the occasion to invite Okoli to join other recipients, at the presentation ceremony, on February 18, 2017 at Expo Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.