ALTON Publicity Secretary, Damian Udeh, loses father, aged 94 - ITREALMS

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The Nigerian telecommunications community has extended its condolences to the Publicity Secretary of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Barrister Sir Damian Udeh (KSM), following the passing of his father, Barr. Sir Matthew Orji Udeh (KSJI, KSS), reports ITREALMS.

The late patriarch, a highly respected legal mind and community leader, passed away at the age of 94, as disclosed in an official funeral announcement made available to ITREALMS.

APGA appoints Wole Adedoyin member of National Publicity Committee - ITREALMS

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The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has appointed Wole Adedoyin, as a member of its prestigious National Publicity Committee, reports ITREALMS.

Adedoyin is currently the chairman of the Osun State Chapter of the party.

2022 Business Clinic: Stakeholders charge NIG to intensify publicity - ITREALMS

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Stakeholders rose from the 2022 Internet Business Clinic by the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) with a charge for the group to intensify public enlightenment on the positive use of the Internet, reports ITREALMS.

Giving his good will message to the clinic, the chairman, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo applauded NIG for putting the event together at Technology Distribution Customer Experience Centre, Yudala Heights, Victoria Island.

IEEE names Uwaje, Africa chair on publicity for IoT World 2016

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New York-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has named the immediate past president of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Chief Chris Uwaje as its chair on publicity and communication in Africa, for the forthcoming IEEE-Internet of Things (IoT) World Forum 2016, reports ITRealms.

Disclosing this, Mr. Uwaje in a press statement made available to ITRealms noted that the Internet of Things and Everything (IoTs/IoE) represents perhaps the last hope for Africa’s 21st Century knowledge, creativity and innovation renaissance.

This, he said, was in pursuant to resolutions at the last meeting of the IEEE-WFIoT 2016 Organising Committee held on 9th March, 2016, where “Chris Uwaje was appointed the Co-Chair for Publicity and Communications for Africa.”

Uwaje’s mandate, ITRealms gathered includes but not limited to promoting, propagating and advancing the aims and objective of the IEEE-World Forum on Internet of Things, but above all, to establish innovative programmes of ensuring the participation and contribution of the ICT Industry leadership, government policy makers, IT Professionals and stakeholders in Africa, to accelerate the diffusion, application and domestication of the promise and opportunities of IoTs.

He also said that the forum with the theme: “Internet of Things: Smart Innovation for Vibrant Ecosystem” he said, promises the assemblage of best brains and leaders in academia, innovation, corporate industry, technology business and government policy makers to discuss and map the way forward and codify future opportunities and benefits of Internet of Things and Everything (IoTs/IoE). 

He equally stressed the imperative and strategic of having Africa represented and actively contributes to the outcome of proceedings – as the continent stands to benefit immensely from the conference, pointing out that in order to achieve the quantum benefits from the emerging digital opportunity, his vision is to take charge of promoting and establishing the “Africa IoTs Pavilion” as strategic imperative for success at the WF-IoTs 2016 in the United States of America (USA).” 

He told ITRealms that the 2016 IEEE 3rd World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT) – IoT: Smart Innovation for Vibrant Ecosystems is a unique event for industry leaders, academics and decision making government officials. IEEE WF-IOT 2016 will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, Virginia USA between 12 and 14 December, 2016. 

Uwaje further said this event is designed to examine key critical innovations across technologies which will alter the research and application space of the future. 

“The Internet of Things envisions a highly networked future, where every object is integrated to interact with each other, allowing for communications between objects, as well as between humans and objects, which enables the control of intelligent systems in our daily lives. My appointment as Africa Chair - Publicity and Communications for the 3rd World Forum on IoTs 2016 is a great challenge,” he said.

Uwaje, therefore solicited supports to deliver on this mandate of reaching out to 500 Africa Universities and 1000 IT Industry leaders cum players for submission of 2000 papers for consideration. 

“I am sure that a well-researched paper from African knowledge network has the pedigree for final selection. This will put Nigeria and Africa in the Internet Protocol (IP) forefront of IoTs the digital World,” he submitted.

 

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Buhari formalizes appointment of Ipaye, Akande as DCoS, SSA Media to VP

ITRealms:

President Muhammadu Buhari has formalized the appointment of Mr. Rahman Adeola Ipaye as Deputy Chief of Staff (DCoS) and Mr. Laolu Akande as Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) in the Presidency, reports ITRealms.

The two new appointees, ITRealms gathered, have been working in the Office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, since the inception of Buhari administration.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina disclosed this to ITRealms, pointing out that Mr. Ipaye, who was the immediate past Attorney General of Lagos State, studied at the University of Lagos with B.A. (Hons) Degree (History) in 1984; LL.B. Hons (1988) and LL.M. (1991). He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators respectively.
 
Before his appointment as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ipaye was employed as a lecturer in the Department of Commercial and Industrial Law, University of Lagos (1992 to 2001); Special Assistant (Legal Matters) to the Governor of Lagos State (2001 to 2007); and Special Adviser (Taxation and Revenue) to the Governor of Lagos State and member of the State Executive Council (2007 to 2011).
 
Mr. Laolu Akande graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1990 with an honours degree in History and a Masters degree in Communication & Language Arts in 1992.
 
He became a Staff Reporter of the Guardian newspaper in 1990 while still serving under the National Youth Service Corps. He left The Guardian to join the foundation team of The News Magazine in 1993, where he became Senior Writer. In 1997, he was appointed by Nigerian Tribune as editor of the Tribune on Saturday, a position he held until he moved to the United States of America in 1998.
 
In the United States, he worked as a journalist with the Philadelphia Inquirer and New York Newsday. He also served at the United Nations as a Press Officer and later as an Advocacy and Communication Consultant. He was also the Bureau Chief of The Guardian in North America and the Executive Director of the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans, CANAN.
 
Mr. Akande taught at the State University of New York at Stonybrook and also Suffolk County Community College in Long Island, New York between 2002 and 2015.

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Pix: Laolu Akande

Buhari won't demand 'killing' of stories - Adesina

ITRealms:

The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, has reassured Nigerians and media practitioners that his principal, would not request any journalist to ‘kill’ stories for him, reports ITRealms.

Speaking at the weekend at a dinner hosted the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Adesina said that instead, the administration would encourage newsmen to run stories that will critically examine the workings of government and provide it with the way forward.

President of GOCOP, Mr. Malachy Agbo, was quoted in a press statement available to ITRealms as saying that Adesina gave this assurance on Thursday at a dinner held for him and other presidential spokesmen by the online publishers.

Agbo also said that at the dinner hosted by GOCOP members were the Senior Special Assistant on Media to President Buhari, Malam Garba Shehu, and the Senior Special Assistant in the Office of the Vice President, Laolu Akande.

In his remarks, Adesina said the first thing the President told him when he assumed office was “Always tell me the truth,” stressing that Buhari was emphatic when he equally told him that as a General he loved to argue, but would always bow to superior arguments.

"The President told me 'Please do not fail to argue with me,'" Adesina who is one of GOCOP Trustees said, insisting that Buhari has vowed to run an open and transparent government so much that he would have nothing to hide and would have no cause to want to ask for any story to be ‘killed’.

Equally he revealed that the only thing Buhari asked is that for any news item, the Presidency should be allowed the opportunity to state its side before being putting same in the public domain or the going to press.

Adesina applauded the online publishers for coming together to form a group, advising GOCOP to look out for spoilers, gate crashers and those who might hide under the canopy of online publishing to damage the reputation of innocent public officers.

"There is a saying that one bad coin can spoil hundreds of other coins. My advice is that you should not allow any of your members to use the platform to malign innocent people. You should also find a way of sanitising the social media practitioners who just sit in their bedrooms to churn out news without professional touch," he counselled.

Also speaking, Garba Shehu expressed thanks to GOCOP for the support they gave him when he handled the media and publicity department of All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council as Director.

According to him, the APCPPC was the poorest in terms of resources, “but the richest in terms of people’s goodwill. And the online publishers were the greater part of that process."

Similarly, Laolu Akande, acknowledged the contributions of online media and social media in the actualisation of the Buhari Presidency. 

He advised Nigerians to adopt the government as their own because “this is the change we have been talking about.”

Welcoming GOCOP guests earlier, Agbo assured the presidential spokesmen of the support and cooperation of the members, even as he appealed to them to always make themselves available for any news item that requires clarification.

He was confident that members of GOCOP, who are veterans in the journalism profession, would continue to support them with prayer to achieve success in their assignments.

Several other GOCOP members who spoke at the occasion commended the presidential media team for recognising the important role of the online media in modern information dissemination and appealed to them to keep it up.

+ITRealms DSA +Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) 

 
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GOCOP dinner: L-R: Senior Special Assistant on Media to the President, Malam Garba Shehu; Special Adviser on Media to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina; and the President, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Malachy Agbo, at the dinner for the presidential spokesmen. 

Adesina urges online publishers on credibility, as Haruna stresses importance

ITRealms:

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, has urged Nigerian online publishers to guarantee the credibility of their publications so as to bolster the future of online media, reports ITRealms.

Speaking as a guest at the official unveiling of an online newspaper, Sundiata Post in Abuja Tuesday, Mr. Adesina noted that the call is to assure the sector is not awash by unenthusiastic publishers.

“There is this saying that bad coins tend to drag good coins out of circulation. So, if we leave online publishing for the bad ones, the good ones cannot make a difference,” he said, stressing that the good, the bad and the ugly among online publishers do exist, but is need to have more of the good ones, because it would be for the betterment of the country.

In his keynote address, the former Chief Press Secretary to General Abdullsalami Abubakar, Mallam Mohammed Haruna, while dwelling on “Has Online Journalism Come of Age?” noted that the invention of the Internet had transformed journalism into a truly all-comers’ trade.

Haruna said the question has become imperative due to the assumed conflict between online media’s speed and old media’s core value of accuracy.

“This assumption is largely false. Depending on how much in a rush one is, there has always been conflict between accuracy and speed since the emergence of mass media in the 19th century. The difference is that the new media, in its rush to be in real time in the news, seems more wired to sacrifice accuracy on the altar of speed than the old media,” he said.

The implication, Mallam Haruna pointed out is that online journalism tends to be less reliable than the offline journalism and on this ground, it could be argued that online journalism is less mature than the mainstream journalism.

Chairman of the occasion and the Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Emeka Mba, defined online journalism as a media for the coming generation.

Represented by the Director, Public Affairs at NBC, Mr. Awwalu Salihu, the DG equally urged online publishers to focus carving integrity for themselves alongside accuracy and professionalism in order to have the buy-in of the society and its needs.

In his remarks, the Publisher, Sundiata Post Online Newspaper, Mr. Max Amuche, said that credibility and professionalism would continue to be the catchphrase of Sundiata.

As said by him, the publishers under the aegis of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) came together to make certain that the activity of the media is self-regulated.

Also speaking, the National Vice Chairman of GOCOP, Musikilu Mojeed, said proprietors of online media in the country are accomplished professionals, some of who rose from mere reporter to topmost management positions in some of Nigeria’s leading dailies.

GOCOP, Mr. Mojeed said, has been busy in the past months training its members on ethics and the latest trend in the media industry.

He disclosed plans by GOCOP to soon name charlatans who pass off as online newspaper publishers.

Mojeed emphasised that the GOCOP is partnering relevant Nigerian authorities to descend heavily on thieves who plagiarise the work of its members, even as he reiterated the determination of the organization to sanitise the online media industry.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) in Abuja


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