- The APRA secretariat is located in Nigeria, and the body maintains an observer status with the African union.
- The organization seeks to standardize public relations practice and scholarship on the continent to enhance its relevance to the African reality.
The African Public Relations Association (APRA) has elected Omoniyi Ibietan, head of media relations in the public affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), as its secretary general.
Ibitan was elected during the 35th annual conference and general meeting in Abidjan, a city in Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday.
Ibietan, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and APRA, will work with other members of the executive council to continue the trajectory of reforms in APRA.
The other two members are Arik Karani, from Kenya will serve as president and Michele Mekeme, from Cameroon will act as vice president.
PROFILE
Omoniyi Ibietan is a journalist, writer, and author with over 20 years of experience in media and communication scholarship and practice.
He is the head of media relations in the public affairs at tht Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and has held various positions in academia, policy discourse, communication strategy, regulation, and stakeholder relations.
QUALIFICATIONS
Ibietan holds a Ph.D. in communication from the north-west university in South Africa, with specialization in political communication.
He is an IP3 certified regulation specialist and holds a mini MBA in telecommunications from NEOTELIS in Paris.
APRA’S MISSION
African Public Relations Association (APRA), established in 1975, aims to foster unity among Africans and their global allies through interactions and exchange of meaning.
The organization seeks to standardize public relations practice and scholarship on the continent to enhance its relevance to the African reality.
The conference, themed “one africa, one voice: bridging africa’s communication divide,” features the eighth edition of the Innovation Summit (IN2SUMMIT) and the seventh edition of the SABRE awards Africa.
A Nigerian firm, chain reactions, won 7 awards at the 2024 sabre.
The conference is endorsed by the government of Côte d’Ivoire, the holding opinion & public (THOP), and major global PR associations, including the international public relations association (IPRA), the international communications consultancy organisation (ICCO), the global alliance for public relations and communication management (GA), the African union commission (AUC), and PR national associations across the continent.
The APRA secretariat is located in Nigeria, and the body maintains an observer status with the African union.