Malam Gambo Haruna, Chairman, Joint Union of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Mr Buki Ponle as the Managing Director of the agency.
Haruna, who made the commendation in a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, described the appointment of Ponle, a retiree of the the agency, as an honour to the agency.
The joint union has members drawn from the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporation and Government Owned Companies (SSACGOC).
The rest are the Amalgated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) and the Radio, Television, Theater and Art Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU).
“Buhari has made the agency proud with the appointment. Ponle will deliver quality services because he is one man that knows the Agency very well,” he said.
He said that Ponle was a professional journalist who understood the workings of the agency, adding that he would ensure that the agency was repositioned to meet emerging challenges.
Haruna, however, advised Ponle to swing into action on assumption toward ensuring that the Condition of Service of the agency currently undergoing review received the necessary approval.
This, he noted, would boost the morale of members of staff and ensure excellent output in NAN news production.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement on Tuesday, said President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the appointment of Ponle as the managing director of the agency.
According to the statement, the appointment takes effort from Sept. 1, 2020.
Ponle, 65, from Iresi in Osun State, is a pioneer member of staff of the agency.
He joined NAN on Sept. 1, 1978 as a reporter and rose to the position of Managing Editor/Director before his retirement in 2013.
He has a Diploma, Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Mass Communication from University of Lagos.
Until his appointment as the new managing director of NAN, Ponle was the Chief Executive Officer/Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian Expression, an online publication and More Media Consult Ltd.
(NAN)
