Some 54 years ago, in a remote village in Benue State, a Pius was born to Mr. and Mrs. and Akutah. Like the dream of every parent, they had hoped that young Pius would grow up to be very successful and prominent in Benue land. Pius was the first of 18 children and spent his early life in Kaduna State where his father served in the Nigerian Army.
His early education was in Kaduna before being enrolled back home at the popular Comprehensive High School, Gboko. This separation from the watchful eyes of his dad almost marred his educational career , as his love for soccer blossomed. This saw young Pius dropping out of school several times.
Notwithstanding, his first career choice was to be an accountant “with lots of money in my pocket”. But this was not to be. As a destiny child, Pius Akutah, after several false starts and, against all odds, saw himself at the University of Jos where he bagged a diploma in Law, before proceeding to obtain his first degree in Law at the University of Abuja.
Said he: At some point in my life, I wasn’t even going to school. So, my life in itself is a testimony to the power of God…how God can transform someone to what He wants him to be. My story is also one that can encourage so many other young people that it doesn’t matter how many times you have gotten it wrong, you can get it right even at the 20th attempt” he said.
Since his appointment in November last year as Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer at the Nigerian Shippers Council by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Pius Akutah, who was a Principal State Counsel at the Federal Ministry of Justice as head of the Central Authority Unit, has left no one in doubt that he means business. His emergence has instilled renewed hope on the morale of staffers at the Council.
Pius Akutah recently scored a significant milestone in the annals of the history of the Council when with the collaboration of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and other industry stakeholders, secured the passage of the Shipping and Ports Economic Regulatory Bill in the House of Representatives. It is expected that the Senate will give its affirmation to the bill before the end of the year. Once this happens, the Nigerian Shippers Council would now be statutorily empowered to play its regulatory functions.
Determined to make the Council a key player in the maritime industry, Barr. Pius Akutah has continued to engage a cross section of critical stakeholders. Only a couple of weeks ago, the Council entered into an MoU with the Nigerian Railway Corporation on the need for seamless evacuation of cargo by rail from the ports to the Inland Drywall Ports.
Another low hanging fruit Barr. Akutah aims to harvest is the contentious cargo tracking note. The Shippers Council helmsman believes that an introduction of a cargo tracking note regime will not only curb corruption at the ports but will instil more transparency in the clearance of goods, thus blocking leakages in revenue generation.
With less than three months to his first 365 days in office, Barr. Pius Akutah has certainly achieved remarkable feats in the history of the Council. The just concluded International Judges Conference in Abuja, with no fewer than five Chief Justices from some African countries in attendance turned out to be an endorsement galore for Barr. Akutah as speaker after speaker eulogized and commended his exemplary leadership style, and humble disposition. He is also working hard to ensure that each of the six geo-political zones has at least one Inland Dry Port.