An Associate Professor of Mass Communication, University of Ilorin, Dr. Saudat Salah Abdulbaqi, has been elected as a member of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) governing council during the regulatory body’s 2023 council election.
The don emerged as a council member of the body at the election held at the NIPR’s Annual General Meeting which took place at the NAF Suites in Abuja, on Thursday, themed; ‘Leadership, Public Relations & Value Creation.”
The event provided members of the respected PR body, which was established in 1963 and attained the status of a chartered institute in June 1990 through Decree No. 16 (now an Act of the National Assembly), with the opportunity to convene and elect a new set of leaders to steer the affairs of the body for the next two years.
Among the newly elected members of the NIPR governing council is Dr Abdulbaqi, an academic who has tutored and mentored several communication students in various higher institutions of learning. She also serves as the current Chairperson of the Kwara State chapter of NIPR.
While speaking with our reporter, the astute PR lecturer said the incoming council of the NIPR will build on the legacies of its predecessors.
According to her, the newly elected leadership will strategically reclaim the spaces in the public relations sector that are currently being occupied by non-public relations professionals.
She said, “Building on the proud legacies of the Council, we will mainstream as a team in the incoming Council to further consolidate and make you all proud. We will ensure that the space occupied by non-public relations professionals is taken over by certified public relations practitioners.”
“We will apply appropriate strategies to strengthen the leadership position of the Institute and all its members as leaders in the communication sector.”
As a body saddled with the responsibility of registering and regulating the activities of the PR profession, Dr Abdulbaqi added that being an academic with decades-long experience teaching Public Relations has prepared her for the new position.
Also, in a keenly contested election for the position of the President of the organization, the Executive Vice Chairman of Right-angle PR, Ike Neliaku, emerged as the winner, surpassing Nkechi Alli-Balogun, the Principal Consultant/CEO of NECCI Ltd.
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