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NCC’s Omoniyi Ibietan emerges Secretary-General of APRA
In a remarkable achievement, Omoniyi Ibietan, a distinguished Nigerian communications expert, has been elected Secretary-General of the African Public Relations Association (APRA) at the 35th Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Ibietan, a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and APRA, has an impressive track record in media relations, communication strategy, and policy discourse.
He has over 20 years of experience in the field and has worked with top organizations, including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Federal Ministry of Information and Communication.
As Secretary-General, Ibietan has pledged to continue APRA’s reforms, expand democratic space, and work closely with the African Union Commission and Council of Ministers to put public relations at the heart of policy implementation. He will work alongside Arik Karani (Kenya), President, and Dr. Michele Mekeme (Cameroon), Vice President, to achieve these goals.
Ibietan’s election is a testament to Nigeria’s leadership in the field of public relations and communications. His expertise and experience will undoubtedly elevate APRA’s mission to foster unity and excellence in public relations across Africa, ITPulse Reports
He earned BA and MA in Communication Arts and Communication & Language Arts from the Universities of Uyo and Ibadan in Nigeria, respectively, graduating atop his classes. Earlier, he obtained a diploma in journalism with distinction from the Moscow-Based International Institute of Journalism.
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He holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the North-West University in South Africa, with specialisation in political communication. He is a IP3 certified regulation specialist and holds a mini MBA in telecommunications from NEOTELIS in Paris.
He is also a member of the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE), an Associate Registered Practitioner of Advertising (arpa) and a member of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), the world’s only policy debating platform for the converged communications industry.
Using Castells’ Theory of the Network Society and the Knowledge Gap Theory, and based on the actions of the Nigerian government through the activities of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ibietan advanced a thesis that digital inclusion is the arbiter of digital public relations.
APRA, the successor to the Federation of African Public Relations Association (FAPRA), instituted in Nairobi in 1975, exists to foster the unity of Africans and their global allies through interactions and exchange of meaning.
Pivoted on standardisation of public relations practice and scholarship on the Continent to enhance its relevance to the African reality, APRA member states and individuals meet annually at a location in any of its regional centres (East, North, South, West, Central, Indian Ocean Islands, and Francophone) to have a conversation with a thematic focus on any of its key intervention areas (Health & Education, Economic Integration, Good Governance, Tourism & Leisure, and Infrastructure Development).
This year’s theme is ‘ONE AFRICA, ONE VOICE: BRIDGING AFRICA’S COMMUNICATION DIVIDE’.