The Director of Safety Electronics and Engineering Services at the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Engr. Terese Ihenachor, has added another major honour to her record, receiving the Outstanding Public Service Award from the Lagos Chapter of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN).
The award was presented to Ihenachor at the maiden APWEN Lagos Engineering Summit 2026 in recognition of her contributions to engineering excellence, women’s empowerment and sustainable professional development.
According to her citation, Ihenachor was honoured “for her outstanding commitment to engineering excellence, empowerment of women engineers and sustainable professional development”.
The summit celebrated women whose leadership is advancing engineering, innovation and efficiency in public service.
Ihenachor made history in December 2023 when she became NAMA’s first female substantive Director of Safety Electronics and Engineering Services. Since then, she has provided strategic direction for the maintenance, modernisation and reliability of the agency’s Communications, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management infrastructure nationwide.
Her tenure has seen progress in the upgrade and deployment of critical communications, navigation and surveillance facilities required to support safe, efficient and seamless flight operations in Nigeria’s airspace.
She has also strengthened maintenance regimes for safety-critical systems, enhanced technical planning and operational coordination, while prioritising the timely calibration of navigational aids to ensure their accuracy, integrity and compliance with applicable international standards.
A notable demonstration of her operational leadership was the recent deployment of a Mobile Control Tower at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, following a fire incident that affected critical air-ground communication infrastructure at the old terminal.
The swift intervention ensured continuity of safe air navigation services at Nigeria’s busiest aviation hub.
Under Ihenachor’s technical supervision, the facility was tested and adapted to Nigeria’s operational requirements through local innovations, including a smart flight-strip system and seamless connectivity with NAMA’s Centrex and Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria systems.
Arrangements have also commenced for the deployment of another mobile tower to support Runway 18R.
Ihenachor joined the civil aviation sector in 1994 and has risen through various technical and managerial positions, including General Manager, Workshop, Planning and Logistics, before her appointment as Director.
She is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and Nigerian Institute of Management.
A former APWEN Secretary and Treasurer, Ihenachor also founded the Girl-Child Engineer Initiative to promote greater participation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The latest recognition added to her record of professional honours while further highlighting her contributions to aviation engineering, public service and the advancement of women in the engineering profession.