Oyo, Adefaye bag NIJ Fellowship

The immediate past Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, Dame Oluremi Oyo, was on Wednesday conferred with the fellowship of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism for her contributions to media growth.
The institution’s Governing Council also conferred the fellowship on another distinguished media practitioner, Gbenga Adefaye, the General Manager, Publications of Vanguard newspapers.
The council said that the fellowship was in recognition of the contributions of the awardees to the growth and development of the media industry in Nigeria.
The award was part of activities lined up for the 4th convocation ceremony of the NIJ.
Sam Amuka, Publisher of the Vanguard newspapers; Alhaji Lateef Jakande; and John Momoh of Channels Television, among others, are also fellows of the NIJ.
Responding on behalf of the awardees, Adefaye said that they were humbled by the award as they had been ushered into the hall of fame occupied by distinguished media practitioners.
He said: “This award has just imposed on us a great assignment and this assignment is for us to do more and keep the flag flying.
“A torch had just been passed on to my big sister and to my humble self to keep the light shinning and remain role models to the upcoming ones.
“I want to assure on behalf of my very senior colleague that we will not disappoint you as we shall do all within our reach to serve the nation.”
Speaking to reporters shortly after the award, Oyo urged practitioners in the industry to remain focused and professional in the discharge of their duties.
She stressed that there was need for practitioners to abide and respect the ethics of the profession.
She said: “We must strive to ensure that our journalists are well-educated and continually seek education to improve themselves.
“As much as it is difficult not to be biased in the discharge of our duties, it is equally important for us to do our best in order to stay united and forge ahead as a nation.”
In her welcome address, the Provost of the institution, Dr. Elizabeth Ikem, said that a total of 484 graduating students were conferred with diplomas and certificates in their fields of study.
Ikem said that the institution was working hard to surpass set standards in the training of media practitioners in various fields since its inception.
Ikem noted that the institution had produced notable and respected media practitioners, who had distinguished themselves in the industry.
She said: “The re-organisation, repositioning and re-engineering of the institution since its accreditation by the National Board for Technical Education had so far propelled the institution to higher heights.
“We have produced some of the finest practitioners in the Nigerian media who have been able to hold their own anywhere, irrespective of the challenges.
“Indeed, our vision is to be a top-class institution for the pursuit of knowledge, through learning, research and character.
“I am also happy to state that the institution has not experienced any hitch in academic activities in its 10 years of existence and this to me is remarkable.”
The provost, who said that the certificates of the graduating students were ready for collection, urged them to be good ambassadors of the institution.
Ikem called for support from the alumni of the institution, saying that working closely with them would contribute to accelerated development of the institution.
The Chairman of the occasion, Ben Murray-Bruce, who is also the Chairman of SilverBird Group, urged the graduands to put the knowledge and skills they had acquired into positive use for the development of the nation.
Bruce, who was represented by Dr. Joseph-Ben Molokwu, said the graduates must strive to use new methods and techniques in the discharge of their duties in the face of new challenges in the country.
He said: “You must remember the critical role you ought to play as mass communicators, especially at this period when the nation has converged for a national conference debate.”