PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED BY DR. OBINNA EDWIN AWIAKA

PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED BY DR. OBINNA EDWIN AWIAKA TO MARK ONE HUNDRED (100) DAYS IN OFFICE AS REGISTRAR/CEO OF OPTOMETRISTS AND DISPENSING OPTICIANS REGISTRATION BOARD OF NIGERIA, TODAY BEING 12 SEPTEMBER, 2023

Gentlemen of the Press,
I am pleased to address you today on the occasion of my 100 days in office as the Registrar CEO of the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Registration Board of Nigeria.
First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to the Management and staff of the ODORBN for their support and cooperation during this past 100 days. I am also grateful to the Federal Ministry of Health and other stakeholders for their partnership and collaboration.
During my first 100 days in office, my team and I have focused on several key areas to restructure the ODORN and to improve the quality of eye care services in Nigeria. These areas include:

1. We successfully brokered peace with the Management of Imo State University Owerri which led to the withdrawal of a law suit against the Board.

2. We have successfully inducted Optometry graduands, some of whom have stayed at home for over two years with no hope of induction.

3. Successfully conducted Board Professional Qualifying Examination for the following Universities
– Imo State University
– Abia State University
– University of Ilorin
– Bayero University

4. Successfully conducted inductions fer the following Institutions
– Imo State University – 185 inductees
Abia State University – 32 inductees
– Madonna University – 1 inductee
– Federal University of Technology, Owerri – 1 inductee
– University of Ilorin – 18 inductees
– Bayero University – 44 inductees

5. Through our revenue drive, we have doubled the Internally generated Revenue (IGR) of the Board in the 3rd Quarter of this year compared to the 15 and 2″d quarters, even 3* quarter of previous year.

6. We have recruited much needed contract staff in Legal, accounting, security and logistics to aid the manpower in the Agency.

7. We secured the deployment of National Youth Service Corps members to the Agency, the first time for over a decade.

8. Created a new Office of the Registrar with highly committed officers.

9. Through the ingenuity of my team, we redesigned the official logo of the Agency.

10. We successfully published the maiden edition of the newsletter for the Agency – THE EYEBALL

11. Renovated the Head office of the Agency.

12. Appointed a Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Officer for the Agency.

13. We officially reduced the time to process licenses from forever (unknown) to less than 48 hours.

14. Visited Lagos, Owerri and Port Harcourt Zonal Offices of the Board which contributed in motivating the staff for productivity.

15. Shut down defaulting clinics and Optical Laboratories for non-compliance to regulatory standards.

16. Completed the draft of the Regulatory Guidelines and Code of Professional Ethics for the practice of Optometry and Dispensing Opticianry.

17. Begun the process to fully digitalize the Agency’s operations

18. Had a successful outing at the 46 Nigerian Optometric Association conference in Asaba, where we issued over 48 fresh practice licenses on the spot.

19. Successfully held a parley with the Young Optometrists Forum where waivers were granted to alleviate the pains of the younger ones in the profession.

20. Conducted training and capacity building programme for staff in customer service relation and marketing.

21. Started a collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management on human resources management.

22. Resumed the financial mobilization of Zonal Offices for effectiveness.

23. Redesigned Internship Monitoring by appointing Internship Governors and State Internship Coordinators.

24. Redesigned the licenses of the ODORBN

25. Introduced professional seal and Stamp to distinguish documents issued by licensed professionals

26. Awards received in 100 days
– Conferment of Credence Award by the Norther Youth Council of
Nigeria
– Noble Prize for Excellence by the Advocates for Good Governance in
Nigeria
– Procurement Compliant CEO by the Association of Public Procurement
Practitioners of Nigeria
– Bridge Builder Award by the Association of Nigerian Dispensing
Opticians

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE NEXT 100 DAYS
1. Our Flagship Event for the World Sight Day:
– Media Campaign in over 20 media houses to create awareness and public enlightenment about vision anomalies
– RUN TO END BLINDNESS- this is an event where we shall be collaborating with the Abuja Run Club and other Private Owned Eye Clinics to run a distance of 5KM to end blindness. All participants will enjoy free eye examinations to be provided by our partner clinics.

2. Launch of the National Task Force Against Quackery (NTAQ) in Eye Health. We shall be collaborating with professional Associations, the Nigerian Police, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, Standards Organization of Nigeria, Nigerian Customs Services to flush out the quacks in the Optical Industry.

3. Our Digital Platform will also be going live! Every activity of the Board will be by the click of a button. Every practitioner will have a dash board and a wallet where they can pay in money which will be deducted
As we look forward to the next 100 days, we urge the media to continue to collaborate with us in the campaign against avoidable blindness.

I thank you all for listening.

Dr. Obinna Awiaka
Registrar/CEO
ODORBN