Envoy urges proper funding of NAN

Nigeria’s Consul-General in South Africa, Okey Emuchay, on Wednesday appealed to the Federal Government to properly fund the foreign offices of the News Agency of Nigeria to enable them to deliver on the agency’s mandate.
Speaking at a farewell party hosted in honour of Debo Oshundun, the outgoing NAN Bureau Chief in Johannesburg, Emuchay said that proper funding of the agency’s foreign operations would help in projecting the image of the country globally.
According to the envoy, the agency plays a vital role in reporting the activities of Nigerians in the Diaspora back home, adding that there was the need to reposition the agency’s foreign operations.
He commended the agency for providing maximum media support for the activities of Nigerian diplomatic missions abroad and urged it to continue in this regard.
“We need to tell our own stories and no one will do this for us except our own media,” the consul general said at the party.
The Director-General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission, Aruma Otteh, said that Nigeria deserved to get credit for its noble roles in the liberation of southern African countries.
“This is because as people get comfortable in their new roles, they tend to forget how and those who helped them get there,” Oteh said.
While commending the agency, the DG urged it to keep the nation’s flag flying.
The ceremony was attended by the President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, Ikechukwu Anyene, as well as former NAN bureau chiefs in Johannesburg Wale Ojetimi and Kenneth Ayere