Nigeria has agreed to host the maiden meeting of
the African Bloc of the International Press Institute (IPI), the
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has
confirmed.
The Minister announced this during a meeting held over
the weekend in Vienna, Austria, with the Chairman of the IPI
Executive Board, Marton Gergely, the IPI Executive Director, Scott
Griffen, and Raheem Adedoyin, the IPI Executive Board Member
representing Nigeria and Africa.
“Nigeria agrees to host the maiden meeting of the
African Bloc. It is a great honour for us to lead as we always do,” Idris said.
The IPI African Bloc is a regional platform
within the global IPI network established to promote Africa’s media development
and press freedom interests. The decision to form regional blocs was earlier
approved by the IPI Executive Board to enable national committees to address
region-specific issues within the international community.
Idris recalled that Nigeria had 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 announced yet, IPI Executive
Director Scott Griffen disclosed that the IPI Secretariat in Vienna
will work closely with Adedoyin and the IPI Nigeria National
Committee to finalise arrangements for the event.
IPI Executive Board Chairman, Marton Gergely,
described Nigeria as “a leading light in democratic governance with a free
press,” while Griffen commended the Nigeria National Committee for
its “robust press freedom engagements across the continent.”
During the meeting, Minister Idris also reiterated the
long-standing appeal by IPI Nigeria for renewed institutional 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,
under the board presidency of the late Alhaji Lateef Jakande, and is
currently chaired by Aremo Olusegun Osoba, former Governor of Ogun State
and IPI leader.
The Minister, who is a prominent IPI member, attended
the IPI World Congress and 75th Anniversary held in Vienna.
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