Bluechip companies support hosting of Realnews 10th anniversary lecture

Bluechip companies and organisations are supporting the hosting of the Realnews 10th Anniversary Lecture holding at the Sheraton Hotel on Thursday, November 17.

The organisations include Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCLNigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, FirstBank Nigeria Limited, FBN, and Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA,

The others are Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and National Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Johnwood Hotel, Abuja,Globacom Limited and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Expressing Realnews appreciation to the organisations, Maureen Chigbo, its publisher, prayed God to bless them and give their management the wisdom to lift their organisations to greater heights and prosperity.

Chigbo also expressed her deep appreciation to all the banks, institutions, companies and other organisations that have placed online advertisement on Realnews website in the last 10 years.

“Without their support we would not have remained in business all through the years to do what we love best – investigative journalism,” Realnews publisher said.

She specifically acknowledged the key support NNPC, CBN and Bank of Industry, BOI, gave in the first two years of Realnews through advertisements which helped the organization to steady its publication and also prayed God to bless them, especially the key officials (some of whom have retired) of the Corporate Communications Department for their support, constructive criticism and advice.

Chigbo also thanked organisations like African Development Bank, AfDB, African Capacity Building Foundation,and Africa Risk Capacity, ARC, which sponsored Realnews coverage of its annual meetings in different countries of the world including Morocco, India, Congo DRC, Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, among others.

Not to be left out are organisations like Chevron, ECOWAS Commission, IPC, UNICEF, and WAJA, which sponsored the training and capacity building of Realnews reporters with the last decade of its existence.

Realnews reports that Elizabeth Ebi, group chief executive officer of Futureview Financial Services Limited, will chair the lecture, which will be delivered by His Excellency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, chairman and chief executive officer, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

The lecture which will hold at the Sheraton Hotel by 12 noon will feature Otunba Lanre Ipinmisho, former Director General and member of the Presidential Committee on Eradication of Drug Abuse (PACEDA), Dr. Dokun Adedeji, director general, Christ against Drug Abuse Ministry (CADAM) and Dr. Nkemakolam Ndionuka, consultant psychiatrist and medical director, Tranquil & Quest Behavioural Health as discussants.

The Management of Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited, publishers of Realnews Magazine Online, had announced that the theme of the lecture is “Drug Abuse among Youths in Africa: Implication for Nigerian Economy and 2023 Elections.”

Chigbo, the publisher of Realnews, said there will be an investiture of all the speakers into The Realnews Hall of Fame immediately after the Lecture. Chigbo explained that the Realnews Hall of Fame was established to honour only those who played key roles during the anniversary lectures.

Realnews, a general interest magazine, is an online publication that thrives on investigative journalism. It has expertise in reporting the oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental challenges. They aim to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they are facing in their day-to-day activities, and do this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, the objective is to use investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors they focus on and produce an unbiased report which will actually influence the government and decision-makers to take actions that will make society better.

Realnews is populated by seasoned journalists who believe strongly in the tenets and ethics of the profession. The online publication believes that journalism as the fourth Estate of the Realm can contribute its quota towards building a fair and just society where fundamental human rights are respected and citizens have the freedom to pursue their interests anywhere in the world without hindrance. Its editors have a combined experience of several decades in active journalism practice and are highly dedicated to serving humanity. Hence its motto: “For God and Humanity.”

Realnews Anniversary Lecture Series was established to commemorate the best minds in our society and to tap from them to enrich the discourse in our national development.

The  9th Anniversary Lecture of Realnews in 2021 was delivered by Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on “Nigeria in the Unfolding Integration of the African Market: The Oil and Gas Perspective;” 2020 Eighth Anniversary Lecture of Realnews was delivered by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 on Managing COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa: The Nigeria Experience; Former President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana gave the 2019 Lecture on Beyond Politics: An Economic Narrative for West Africa while Prof. Mahmood Yakubu spoke on Political Transitions and Africa’s Economic Development: Preparations for Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections at the 2018 Lecture. The 2017 Fifth Anniversary Lecture on African Leadership in a Turbulent Era was delivered by Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of Education and former World Bank Vice President. The 2016 Fourth Anniversary Lecture on Security and National Development in Plural Democratic Society was delivered by Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, former United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative to West Africa and Sahel; the 2015 Realnews Third Anniversary Lecture was delivered by Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on November 19, 2015, under the theme: It’s The Nigerian Economy, Stupid? The Second Realnews Anniversary Lecture on Nigerian Democracy: Getting it Right in 2014 was delivered by Professor Maurice Iwu, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).