The African Public Relations Association (APRA) has elected Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, a distinguished Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and Head of Media Relations at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), as its new Secretary-General. Dr. Ibietan’s election took place at the 35th Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Dr. Ibietan joins a three-man Executive Council alongside Arik Karani (Kenya), who was elected President, and Dr. Michele Mekeme (Cameroon), who was elected Vice President. Upon his election, Dr. Ibietan committed to working collaboratively with his colleagues to implement reforms within APRA, enhance democratic engagement among national public relations institutions across Africa, and strengthen ties with the African Union Commission and the Council of Ministers to elevate the role of public relations in policy and program implementation.
Dr. Ibietan, a renowned journalist, writer, and author, currently leads Media Relations Management at NCC, overseeing public communication strategies for Nigeria’s telecommunications regulatory body. His extensive career includes serving as Special Media Advisor to the Federal Minister of Information and Communication during Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. With over two decades of experience in media and communication, Dr. Ibietan’s expertise spans journalism, academia, policy discourse, communication strategy, regulation, and stakeholder relations.
Educationally, Dr. Ibietan holds a BA and MA in Communication Arts and Communication & Language Arts from the Universities of Uyo and Ibadan, respectively, and a diploma in journalism with distinction from the Moscow-Based International Institute of Journalism. He also earned a Ph.D. in Communication from North-West University, South Africa, specializing in political communication. Dr. Ibietan is an IP3 certified regulation specialist and holds a mini MBA in telecommunications from NEOTELIS in Paris. Additionally, he is 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).
A respected scholar, Dr. Ibietan focuses on political communication through new media, media and culture studies, and the theoretical and normative foundations of communication concerning democracy and freedom. He teaches PR & Advertising and Media Management & Communication Strategy to doctoral students at the Rome Business School’s Nigerian campus and facilitates learning in the Master of Corporate Communication program at RBS.
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Dr. Ibietan’s first book, “Social Media Demography and Voting Behaviour in Nigeria,” was published by Premium Times Books in Washington in May 2023. He has traveled extensively across Africa, North America, Europe, and Asia.
At the ongoing APRA conference, Dr. Ibietan presented the first paper titled “Digital Inclusion as Arbiter of Accessible Public Relations: A Case of Nigerian Communications Commission.” Using Castells’ Theory of the Network Society and the Knowledge Gap Theory, Dr. Ibietan argued that digital inclusion is crucial for digital public relations. He highlighted the NCC’s efforts in expanding digital infrastructure and enhancing access to digital resources as foundational to the digital economy and public relations.
APRA, established in Nairobi in 1975 as the successor to the Federation of African Public Relations Association (FAPRA), aims to foster unity among Africans and their global allies through interaction and the exchange of ideas. The association focuses on standardizing public relations practice and scholarship across Africa to align with the continent’s realities. This year’s conference theme is “One Africa, One Voice: Bridging Africa’s Communication Divide,” endorsed by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, THOP, and major global PR associations.
The conference also features the eighth edition of the Innovation Summit (IN2SUMMIT) and the seventh edition of the SABRE Awards Africa.
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