It is multiple celebrations at the Nigerian Press Council, NPC, as the staff receive salary for the first time this year, amidst Christmas and New Year festivities.
On the threshold of last Christmas, the staff were paid all their salaries from January to December, 2024.
This followed the return of the agency to the budget in July, 2024, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Payment of the staff emoluments was however delayed by bureaucracy.
The NPC was among the federal government agencies removed from the 2024 budget on the recommendation of the Steve Oransaye Committee report.
However, when the attention of President Tinubu was drawn to the error in the removal of the Nigerian Press Council and its sister agency , the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, ARCON, he swiftly ordered their immediate return to budget.
The staff who were full of gratitude for the President Tinubu’s fatherly gesture and listening ears, equally expressed appreciation to the Minister of Information and National Orientation for his role in the matter.
They also added it to what they described as a long list of the milestones achieved so far by the Council ‘s Executive Secretary, Dr. Dili Ezughah, who recently marked his first anniversary in office.
The Head, Research and Documentation of the Council, Mr. Dan Ede, remarked that in the past one year, Dr. Ezughah had succeeded in breaking the jinx that bedevilled the agency since its establishment thirty -two years ago.
According to Mr. Ede, “the gusto and panache with which Dr. Ezugha has approached his assignment speak volumes for him and recommend him for higher responsibilities in the future”.
The Director, Maintenance and General Services, Mrs. Florence Ifewulu, said in just one year of service and without funds, the Executive Secretary had “demonstrated a remarkable dedication, passion and commitment to work”.
The Head of Procurement, Malam Muhammad Hassan Awaul, identified Dr. Ezughah’s patience as a key factor in his ability to surmount the intricacies in the NPC.
A staff, Mrs. Nnenna Ewa, had this to say: “Choosing to come along to work with you this past one year has been one of the best decisions of my life. I have learnt and grown”.
For another staff, Miss Nafisat Abdulsalam Abubakar, “you made me to realize that anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course. You clearly see a pathway for implementation of a vision, including not only the process, but also the people and the resources needed”.
Mrs. Nkeiru Samuel of the National Institute of Cultural Orientation, NICO, while thanking God for the feats achieved by Dr. Ezughah in the NPC in the past one year, said: “All I have for you is prayer because I know you will leave a landmark and blossom record in the NPC. Ride on my brother, you’re on the right track”.
Dr. Dili Ezughah was appointed as the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Press Council on the 19th of October, 2023.
He assumed duty barely two months to the removal of the Council from budget, purportedly on the recommendation of the Presidential Committee On Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, headed by a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Steve Oransaye.
Despite lack of funds occasioned by this development, Dr. Ezughah’s leadership has managed to keep the agency moving.
Not only has it succeeded in returning the council to budget, the leadership has created new departments in the council, organized trainings for the staff, mainstreamed the agency into the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC (a body of regulatory agencies in the country under the leadership of the Vice -President, Senator Kashim Shettima); secured a new head office for the council; and expanded its zonal offices from one (Lagos) to five (Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and Kano, which recently received ministerial approval), aside from making the agency more visible in the past one year.
No wonder Mr. Tope Ajayi of the presidency once described him as “a miracle worker”.
