Nigeria has agreed to host the maiden meeting of the African bloc of the National Committees of the International Press Institute (IPI).
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, confirmed this during a meeting at the weekend in Vienna, Austria.
He met with the Chairman of the IPI Executive Board, Marton Gergely, the IPI Executive Director, Scott Griffen, and the IPI Executive Board Member representing Nigeria and Africa, Raheem Adedoyin.
The IPI African Bloc is a regional network within the International Press Institute created to address Africa’s specific media and press freedom interests.
The Board had earlier approved the creation of regional blocs of National Committees to address specific regional interests within the global IPI community.
The minister recalled that Nigeria successfully hosted the IPI World Congress and General Assembly in Abuja in 2018, adding that the country “is ready for another world-class hosting.”
Although no date has been fixed for the event, Griffen disclosed that the IPI Secretariat in Vienna will collaborate with Adedoyin and the IPI Nigeria National Committee to finalise the arrangements.
IPI Executive Board Chairman, Gergely, described Nigeria as “a leading light in democratic governance with a free press.”
Similarly, the IPI Executive Director, Griffen, praised the Nigeria National Committee for its “robust press freedom engagements” across the continent.
During the meeting, the Minister raised the long-standing appeal by the IPI Nigeria National Committee for the Institute’s renewed support to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) in Ogba, Lagos.
He reminded the IPI leadership that the NIJ was founded by the Institute in 1971 during the board presidency of the late Alhaji Lateef Jakande, and noted that its Governing Board is currently chaired by Aremo Olusegun Osoba, former Ogun State Governor and IPI leader.
The Minister, a leading IPI member, attended the IPI World Congress and 75th Anniversary held in Vienna. Credit: channelstv.com
