Kogi, NMMA Sign MOU to Host 29th Nigeria Media Merit Awards as stakeholders highlight importance of event »

Kogi State Government and the organizers of the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA), which is the premier of media awards in Africa, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today (Tuesday) in Lokoja, the state capital.

The North Central state is hosting the 29th Edition of the Awards in Lokoja between the 28th and 31st October, 2021.

The signing ceremony took place under the supervision of the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Arike Ayoade, and the Coordinator, Dr Ronke Bello and other stakeholders, including the award coordinator and ace broadcaster, Yemi Akeji.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, the SSG said Kogi State under Governor has witnessed tremendous progress on matters that affect youth engagement, women empowerment, infrastructural development among others.

She said it was only under the administration that barriers in ethnicity, religion and social class have been de – emphasized, with the government encouraging the ‘Kogi First’ dictum before any other consideration.

According to her, the decision to host the state is another opportunity for Kogi to re – emphasise its place in the annals of the country as the birth place of Nigeria, stressing that many opportunities capable of creating wealth for the entire African continent abound within the state and it was necessary to showcase the potentials to the world.

In his address, the Trustee Chief Administrator of NMMA, Mr Samuel Yemi Akeji stated that Kogi got the slot after a long convincing efforts by its team led by Dr Ronke Bello, saying the opportunity of hosting the event was enormous.

He said it is a flagship ceremony wherein frontline media agencies and organizations converge not only to tell stories but also to synergise and unearth hidden possibilities in a place and that Kogi would never remain the same after the occasion.

On her part, the head of Kogi bidding team stress that the event has the potential to put the opportunities in the state on global map and urged citizens of the state to prepare to grab the opportunities the occasion would offer them.

“Wherever the media go in life, the world follows. Now we are bringing both national and international media to the state with Governor as the Chief Host. The state is also smart enough to have a sub – committee that is handling the business aspect of the ceremony to see other multi-million business possibilities that would be derived from the event. That would aside the many business opportunities to local businesses.

“So, it is a win – win for us and we can’t wait to host the over one million people expected at the occasion. We are ready.”

The Nigeria Media Merit Award is reputed as the foremost media excellence scheme and most prestigious annual celebration of the best in the media industry in Nigeria. Established in 1990 as a not-for-profit professional development institution limited by guarantee, its objective is to recognize, encourage and reward excellence in media practice in Nigeria while fostering the mutual symbiotic relationship between the media industry and the larger society. It serves as a platform to the building of a more progressive Nigeria.

Over the years, NMMA has evolved to become Nigeria’s most powerful and influential platform for an Annual re-union of Media Veterans and Practitioners with the crème de la crème of the society and other eminent stakeholders nationally and internationally.

It eminently enjoys the grand patronage of the nation’s foremost citizens from inception and the life inspiration of the late doyen of the Nigerian Media, Alhaji Babatunde Jose OFR, who was the scheme’s founding chairman and pilot for the first ten years. The NMMA programme is also supported by other eminent statesmen and major public and private sector organizations who have endowed various categories of awards in perpetuity.

The NMMA Trust, established in 1990, is managed by eminent media veterans drawn from all parts of the nation. They oversee the direction of the NMMA Scheme, the standard of the award screening process and the conduct of the annual program of the scheme. The Trustees also appoint the Award Panel of Assessors from a cream of distinguished and experienced media leaders who share the noble vision and ideals of the NMMA.

The Trust’s General Administration is efficiently carried out by Ideas Communications Limited, one of Nigeria’s foremost events management agencies and co-founder of the NMMA Scheme.