Newswatch wins three major awards at the Nigeria Media Merit Award, NMMA, held recently in Ondo State

Newswatch made an impressive outing at this year’s Nigeria Media Merit Award, NMMA, held in Akure, the Ondo State capital, December 10. The magazine won three major awards at the glamorous event. The feat was achieved by Chris Ajaero, deputy general editor, Emmanuel Uffot and Anthony Akaeze, both assistant editors.

The three Newswatch winners had all gone to the ceremony with a total of seven nominations in addition to two other nominees from the organisation. In some cases, they were paired in the same categories to slug it out amongst themselves. Ajaero won the Chevron Nigeria’s prize for oil and gas reporter of the year, Uffot clinched the Guardian newspaper prize for investigative reporter of the year while Akaeze emerged the winner of the Lateef Jakande prize for political reporter of the year.

However, Taiwo Idowu, assistant photo editor and Ishaya Ibrahim, staff writer, who were also nominated in the news photographer of the year and oil and gas reporter of the year categories were not lucky enough to win.

For Ajaero, this is the second time he is winning the Chevron Nigeria’s prize for oil and gas reporter of the year. He had earlier won the award in 2009. Two senior managers of Chevron, namely Adesola Adebawo, communications manager and Adeboye Kayode, external communications co-ordinator, were at the ceremony in Akure to present additional packages for the award to Ajaero.  The packages include a laptop, and a printer.

The story that won Ajaero the award was on the infamous Halliburton bribe scandal which indicted some former Nigerian public officers and their foreign collaborators. Ajaero was particularly impressed by the commitment of the management of Chevron in enhancing the reporting of issues in the oil industry which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.  It was his sixth award in NMMA.

For Uffot, who won The Guardian newspaper prize for Investigative Reporter of the year, this winning made it his third award in NMMA since he joined Newswatch in 2007. At the 2008 edition of the award, held in Enugu, in 2009, Uffot clinched two awards. To Uffot, his latest award calls for more hard work.

Akaeze won the political reporter of the year award with the entry: ‘The Dilemma of the VP,’ a story which captured the anxiety and power play that characterised the period the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua took ill and was hospitalised in a hospital in Saudi Arabia without handing over to Jonathan, who was then his deputy.

Newswatch was also nominated by NMMA for the WAMPCO prize for Newsmagazine of the year. However, the prize went to TELL magazine. 

The 2010 NMMA entries were assessed by a panel of assessors made up of 24 distinguished media and public relations icons with Ralph Akinfeleye, a professor of mass communication, University of Lagos, as acting chairman.

In his speech, Alade Odunewu, chairman board of trustees of NMMA, commended Olusegun Mimiko, governor of Ondo State, the host for this year’s event, for his warm and enthusiastic support for the Nigerian media and promotion of professional excellence.

On his part, Yemi Akeju, chief administrator, NMMA, described the hosting of this year’s event as remarkable.

Responding, Mimiko said he was delighted to co-host the event because of the role the media has played in deepening democracy in the country.  He then endowed an award in the foreign news reporting category.

The NMMA, which started celebrating media excellence since 1992, has   consistently organised award presentation in the past 20 years. The 2011 edition was very colourful because Ondo which prides itself as the Sunshine State brought a lot of glamour into it.

 Mimiko used the opportunity provided by the presence of journalists to showcase some of the projects executed by his administration. The journalists were taken round various project sites both completed and ongoing. Those completed include mother and child clinics scattered in all the local governments in the state where women and children get free treatment including drugs. The state government officials also took the visiting journalists to some of the ultra modern primary schools that it recently completed as well as the Gani Fawehinmi Diagnostic Centre in Ondo town.