How 20 Winners of National Spokespersons Awards Emerged- Prof Mabel, Chair Jury

How 20 Winners of National Spokespersons Awards Emerged- Prof Mabel, Chair Jury

The twenty winners of the 2024 National Spokespersons Awards (NSAwards) were selected purely on merit, having met the essential criteria required for winning entries.

The Chairperson of the NSAwards Jury, Professor Mabel Evwierhoma, made the disclosure while submitting their report to the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr Ike Neliaku, at the award event in Abuja. She said most of the campaigns were related to activities and accomplishments in the last year.

The NIPR president inaugurated the jury committee at the 3rd edition of the Spokespersons Communication Awards (SCA) hosted by Image Merchants Promotion Limited in Abuja on December 7, 2023.

The Jury members inaugurated included Professor Mabel Evwierhoma (Chairperson), Professor Anthony Igyuve, Professor Saudat Abdulbaqi, Dr Arthur Martins-Aginam, Mal. Kabir Abdulsalam, Mr. Ishola Ayodele and Mr. Abdulrahman Abdulraheem (Member/Secretary)

The Chairman of the Jury pointed out that the assessment criteria adopted in selecting winners were based on Communication Objectives, Clarity of Strategy, Theme and Relevance, Channel Selection, Creativity and innovation, Storytelling and Framing, Engagement with the Audience, Use of New Technology, Effectiveness of Communication, and Professionalism.

Speaking on the process for the shortlist, Prof Mabel said the assignment was taken on in earnest. Twenty-one (21) categories were listed in the call for entries, which opened on February 1 at https://nsawards.ng/ and closed on February 29, 2024. Only entries submitted before the deadline were accepted.

The communication scholar said: “The Jury received the submitted entries on March 5, 2024. The 151-page document was unpacked by members who later shortlisted three candidates in each category out of 224 nominees that the Jury received. All the six-member jury meetings now take place online, especially under the aegis of WhatsApp and Zoom. The candidates were listed under respective categories: name, Email, telephone number, nominator and nominee’s organisation.

“Only nominees with a minimum of 50 per cent of the votes cast by the jury were selected. Some of the entries demonstrated originality and solutions to contemporary challenges, while others provided evidence of the professionalism and effectiveness of their campaigns. While most categories have three finalists, one has four and a few others have two. For the Spokesperson of the Year, since it is the flagship, the finalists in this category were instructed to submit a maximum of two minutes of video on their campaigns in 2023 for final selection.

“After the first segment of the assessment, the Jury shortlisted the candidates according to the frequency of mention in each category. The next step was electronic voting, which commenced on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. When two ties were discovered, the jury resumed voting a day after to break the tie between Corporate Governance and Technology.”

“The 2024 National Spokespersons Awards has proved Nigeria as a nation of spokespersons with sterling qualities. We all appreciate being part of the adjudication process and applaud our efforts. We congratulate the winners and affirm greater hope of future success for any candidacy that was not successful. There is always another chance with better results.

She also observed that the brevity of the time allocated must have prevented shortlisted Spokespersons of the Year candidates from submitting the required number of videos. Only two were received from Mr Reuben Muoka of NCC and CSC Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada of Customs.

“With the plans for some physical meetings that were not realised, the necessity of physical meetings cannot be gainsaid and should be the norm rather than the exception; Early commencement of plans for advertisement, category of awards and nominations is necessary; and An odd-number Jury makes for a better balance in collating results and prevents ties in votes.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Award Coordinating Committee, Mr. Segun Mcmedal, commended the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) for endorsing the partnership agreement with Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR) – publishers of PRNigeria and the Spokespersons’ Digest in the hosting of the annual Spokespersons’ Awards.

Mcmedal, a former Chairman of the NIPR Lagos Chapter, said the awards ceremony evolved from three previous editions organised and hosted by IMPR between 2021 and 2023.

“The spokespersons’ awards recognise accomplishments, motivate others to strive for excellence, enhance visibility and add legitimacy to the reputation of recipients by demonstrating superiority, expertise and uniqueness.

“We hope that the awards will continue to provide avenues for networking opportunities and business relationships, improve employees’ performance and boost their morale.

The winners of various categories of the awards included Hakama Sidi Ali of CBN (Financial Service), Olufemi Soyemi of NNPCL (Oil and Gas Sector), Abdulrahman Balogun of NIDCOM (International Relations), Adewale Adebajo of British High Commission (Diplomatic), Kwara State Governor (Corporate Governance), Nigeria Customs Service (Regulatory Compliance), Dr. Jossy Nwakocha of Indorama Eleme (Environmental Sustainability), Charles Aniagwu, Commissioner Delta State (Public Sector State) and Maryam Sanusi of FERMA (Public Sector Federal).

Others include Festus Akande of Supreme Court (Judiciary), Hon Eseme Eyibo of the Office of the Senate President (Legislature), Sanusi Bature of Kano State (Executive Arm), Reuben Muoka, NCC (Technology), Jonas Agwu, Federal Road Safety Commission (Security), Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, Defence Headquarters (Military), Dr Peter Afunanya of DSS (Crisis Management)

Others are Michael Adande of Shell Company (Corporate Communication), Rafiu Ajakaye of Kwara State (Political Communication), Stanley Olisa of Air Peace (Young Spokesperson), Abdullah Maiwada of Nigeria Customs Service (Best Spokesperson of the Year).

By PRNigeria