#TrackNigeria The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has won the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Award for Excellence (GWA) in the Crisis Communication Management category.
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
He said the award was presented at the 2019 IPRA GWA Awards Night held in Yerevan, the ancient capital city of Armenia on Friday.
“The award was given in recognition of the NAF’s management of communication in the aftermath of the attack on Metele in the North East of Nigeria, in partnership with Image Merchants Promotions (IMP) Limited.
“This added another feather to its cap in the area of Public Relations (PR) and Information Management,” he said.
Speaking after receiving the award on behalf of the NAF, AVM Kingsley Lar, the Chief of Administration (COA) Headquarters NAF, said the award was a testament to the hard work and dedication of personnel of the NAF Directorate of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI).
He said the hard work of the personnel was backed by the unwavering support and guidance of the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
Lar noted that this was yet another laudable achievement facilitated by the CAS’ visionary leadership which over the past 4 years has repositioned the NAF into a highly professional and disciplined force that is well respected both at home and abroad.
He reiterated that the NAF, in collaboration with other security agencies, would sustain the onslaught against terrorists and other criminal elements in the country to ensure that law abiding citizens were able to pursue their legitimate aspirations without fear.
Speaking after the event, Daramola, appreciated the organisers of the Annual GWA Ceremony for recognising the NAF’s contribution to PR practice.
” We commend IPRA for finding the NAF worthy of this honour. We also acknowledge IMP Limited, publishers of PRNigeria, for its support and nomination of our modest contribution for the award”, he said.
Earlier, the IPRA President, Svetlana Stavreva, who was also the Chairperson of the Panel of Judges, said that the GWA celebrates the demonstration of excellence in PR practice across the globe.
She noted that the 2019 GWA witnessed a record highest number of entries, which were subjected to 2 rounds of assessment.
She said the last of which was conducted by a Jury of 25 judges from 23 different Countries; out of which 89 winners were selected in 37 different categories.
Stavreva said two of these were from Nigeria; the NAF and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Established in 1955, IPRA is the leading global network for PR professionals.
The Association aims to advance trusted communication and the ethical practice of PR through networking, code of conduct and intellectual leadership of the profession. (NAN)
