The electoral mandate of Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos, the Director-General of NTA, as Chairman, and High Chief Tony Akiotu, Group Managing Manager at Daar Communication, as Vice-Chairman, of the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) has been formally ratified. The inauguration and official handover of the leadership baton took place in Abuja yesterday, attended by key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors.
During the investiture ceremony, the Chairman of BON expressed his unwavering commitment to building upon the successes of his predecessors in revolutionizing the broadcast industry in Nigeria. He emphasized the importance of collaboration to foster the strategic growth initiatives of the broadcast body.
He said: “The outgone President is leaving a very big vacuum that is very hard to fill but we will try and the trial as Chairman and Vice-Chairman will largely depend on the kind of co-operations that we get from members. We are sure that all the support that will be required for us to discharge our duties will be made. So, I will like to thank the invitees here and most sincerely thank the immediate Past Chairman for all these achievements he has been able to accomplish within the last two years.
“The immediate Past Chairman is just leaving as Chairman but he remains a valuable and active member of BON. So, his wealth of experience will continue to be tapped by the new leadership and of course, we will also rely on the experience of our Past Chairmen and Executive secretaries of BON.
The new BON leadership assured key players in the industry that they will create the necessary environment for growth. They emphasized a commitment to capacity building and technological optimization, with the goal of positively transforming the narrative in the broadcasting industry.
John Ugbe, the outgoing President of BON, stressed the significance of stakeholders’ partnership as a valuable opportunity to achieve the much-needed development in the broadcast industry.
“In terms of achievements, I am very proud that with the support of Multi-Choice, we were able to achieve a lot in BON. I also trust the new Chairman of BON, the DG of NTA will definitely take BON higher. The important thing in BON is collaboration. That was really the reason we could succeed because we had everybody working together. Our commitment is to continue to work together with the new leadership and ensure that they do even better than we did in BON” he said.
Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, the Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), commended the new leadership of BON. He mentioned that the ongoing reform in the advertising industry will restructure the entire space, ensuring the security of investments in broadcast media in the country.
The focal point of the event was the official handover ceremony.
Recall that Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos and High Chief Tony Akiotu were elected unopposed during the 78th General Assembly of the organization, which took place at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja on the 12th of October, 2023.
