As the August 2023 Annual General Meeting [AGM] of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations [NIPR] during which a frontline member of the foremost Public Relations Institute, Mrs. Nkechi Ali-Balogun, FNIPR, who is vying for re-election into the governing council of the Institute inches closer, prominent local and international personalities have continued to throw their weight behind Ali-Balogun’s bid for re-election into the highest policy formulation body of the Institute. So far, endorsements have been pouring in from local and international sources validating her bid.
The current spate of endorsements includes Professor Loch Otieno Lumumba, popularly known as P.L.O. Lumumba. Lumumba is a renowned Lawyer and Kenyan national notable for his relentlessness in his Pan-Africanist perspectives and one who believes in advancing African solutions to African problems. In the same breath, strong local voices including Hajia Lami Tumaka, FNIPR, a former Director at Nigerian Maritime Services Agency [NIMASA], Mr. Olufemi Awoyemi, mni, an erudite economist and tax consultant and Founder and Chairman, Pro-Share, Nigeria’s foremost Financial Information hub and Mrs. Nkiru Olumide-Ojo, developmental consultant and communications technocrat respectively.
According to Lumumba, he believes Ali-Balogun has the pedigree for the membership of the highest policy formulation body of the foremost institute she is bidding for ‘’I wish Nkechi Ali-Balogun the best. I challenge you to use the knowledge and the intellectual wherewithal, the dedication, the passion and the vision in your quest to serve the Institute in a manner that will make Nigeria and Africa proud’’.
In her own remark, Tumaka, hinges the unrelenting call for her support for Ali-Balogun, FNIPR on the unrivalled records she recorded while in the saddle as the first female Chairperson of the flagship NIPR Chapter, Lagos NIPR as well as her contributions as a two-terms member of the governing council of the Institute, according to her: Nkechi has paid her dues both as a prominent member of the Lagos NIPR where she gave the chapter strong recognition. As a two-term Council member of our Institute Nkechi has served in various committees and chaired various others where she did excellently well. A Vote for Nkechi is a vote for recognition, a vote for Nkechi is a vote for inclusiveness and a vote for Nkechi is a vote for development’’
Olumide-Ojo stated that: ‘’It is refreshing to see that Nkechi Ali-Balogun is vying to serve Nigerian Institute of Public Relations [NIPR]. NAB brings experience from the client and the Agency sides across the value-chain of communication, I am confident that her wealth of experience will be very greatly useful to the Institute, she asserted.
Olufemi Awoyemi asserted that: ‘’Nkechi Ali-Balogun is a thorough-bred professional who understands how to transform problems into opportunities as she did during her leading of the Lagos State NIPR. Her experience as a member of the Institute’s Governing Council, her pragmatic leadership style, capacity and networking skills makes her the ideal candidate for the highest policy formulation body of the prestigious organization. I wish she gets the opportunity to serve as the president of the NIPR,’’ says Awoyemi.
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