NIPR, IMPR sign agreement on National Spokespersons’ Communications Awards

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has signed a historic deal with the Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR) – publishers of PRNigeria, Spokespersons’ Digest and Economic Confidential – for the hosting of the annual Spokespersons’ Communications Awards (SCA).

The epoch-making Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by NIPR President, Dr Ike Neliaku and Managing Director of IMPR, Mallam Yushau Shuaib at the institute in Abuja.

The awards will be an evolution of the SCA which the IMPR has been organising for three years. This year’s event will be held on December 7, the final edition as presently constituted. It will be succeeded by the new format to be unveiled in March 2024, in line with the pact.

The NIPR will “Endorse the Spokespersons Awards as the chief host; issue notifications to members in chapters and relevant stakeholders; recognize the award as part of its annual National Spokespersons Summit; provide the venue for the award ceremony; nominate the Chairman and three members of the seven-member jury.”

On its part, the IMPR will “Organise and finance the awards; provide trophies; handle souvenirs, logistics, publicity and media relations; create and manage the website; cater for the secretariat and receive all entries; nominate the secretary and two other members of the seven-member jury.”

In his remark, Dr Neliaku noted that the collaboration is history in the making as well as the reawakening of a new dawn for the practice of PR in Nigeria.

“This is the third in the series of MoUs with credible organisations led by NIPR practitioners; those contributing their quota to the service of the Institute, adding value to nation building. We are here to sign with our own Mallam Yushau Shuaib and his team from IMPR, who have accepted for us to work together to expand the Awards his organisation have been running for years.

“NIPR is coming with the National Spokespersons Summit, a flagship programme aimed at having a solid foundation of spokespersons in Nigeria. It cuts across the private and public sector and civil society at local, state and federal levels. This is why we are here today; this is the first component of the action we are going to talk about in March next year.”

The CEO of IMPR, Mr. Shuaib noted that the spokespersons’ awards would recognise accomplishments, motivate others to strive for excellence, enhance visibility and add legitimacy to the reputation of recipients by demonstrating superiority, expertise and uniqueness.

“It will also create networking opportunities, business relationships, improve employees’ performance and boost their morale. We initiated this idea in 2018 with the former NIPR President, Mallam Mukhtar Sirajo, who commended our various exploits on the international scene. We are glad that the new leadership under Dr Neliaku has concretised with this solid agreement,” he added.

Others at the signing ceremony included NIPR Vice President, Prof Emmanuel Dandaura; Registrar, Uzoma Onyegbadue; ex-Army spokesman, Brig Gen Sani Usman Kukasheka (rtd), and ex-Adamawa State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Ahmad Ibrahim Sajoh.

Apart from winning series of African SABRE PR Awards instituted by Provoke Media in a collaboration with African Public Relations Association, and the Golden World Awards (GWA) of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), the IMPR was ranked the most creative PR agency by the Global Creative Index in 2020.

IMPR provides PR advisories to various sectors, including the financial industry, security agencies, public service and non-governmental organisations. Its expertise extends to handling complex communication challenges and promoting positive narratives.