By Omakpo Lucy
Leading engineering construction company, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC has been recognised as a Most Influential Corporate Voice by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR. The credit came at the National Spokespersons Awards 2025 which wrapped up the just ended 2nd Nigeria Spokespersons Summit jointly organised by the Institute and the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, held in Abuja, Wednesday.
According to the Chairman of the Awards Planning Committee, Mr. Segun McMedal who announced the awards, Julius Berger joined two other corporate organisations to clinch the worthy recognition as influential corporate voices in the 2024/25 year under review.
He listed the adjudication criteria to include: ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and effectively, ensuring messages are easily understood, possession of skill in tailoring communication to different media channels while maintaining message integrity, frequency and quality of media engagements, including interviews, press conferences, press releases, and op-eds and ability to craft compelling narratives that effectively communicate the organization’s objectives and achievements.
Besides, the recognition, he added, was also based on proficiency in leveraging emerging communication channels, tools, and technologies to enhance engagement and outreach as well as NIPR’s evaluation of how effectively the organisations PR objectives were met, measuring the overall success and influence of communication efforts.
Thus, being media savvy and the organisation’s visibility in the media, story telling and framing ability, the use of new technologies and the outcome and impact of the effort among others helped in determining the influence of our corporate voices of choice, he said.
In a related development, Julius Berger’s Media Relations Manager, Emmanuel Isibor won NIPR’s Outstanding Spokesperson, Crisis Management, (Private Sector) Award at the event. Citing the rise and positive visibility of Julius Berger throughout 2024 till date in the media inspite of the challenges in the sector and the general public as well as regularity of the organisation’s media reports across the print, broadcast and online platforms, McMedal said, the Award was very deserving even as he urged all winners to continue to up their professionalism in the discharge of their duties as worthy ambassadors of the Institute.
In his short remarks ahead the Awards ceremony, President of the Institute, Dr. Ike Neliaku, fnipr, said, the summit leads to the awards. This is part of that whole process of remembering spokesperson so that you can help a voice. You have a platform to yourself. Not only that you come together to interact to learn to understand the new things going on in the industry. It is also for you to be able to showcase yourselves through crisis.
Declaring the event open on the first Day of the Summit, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, described the NIPR as a compelling imprimatur of professionalism in Nigeria’s public relations practice.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, emphasised the urgent need for ethical leadership communication to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy, saying, “after 25 years of uninterrupted democracy, Nigeria has reached a point where our communication of leadership and policy must reflect the maturity of our democratic process.”
He warned that the spread of misinformation undermines democratic values, adding that, public relations should not be viewed as spin or propaganda but as a vehicle for truth. When communication is rooted in integrity, citizens are empowered to make informed decisions and hold leaders accountable.
The Minister of Information, Alh Mohammed Idris Malagi, fnipr, his predecessor, Alh. Lai Mohammed, CON, fnipr, former Ogun State Governor, Chief Segun Osoba, CFR, CON; former Minister of Culture and Tourism, Chief Edem Duke, fnipr; and the Chairman, House Committe
Photo caption
L-R: Hon. Joshua Audu Gana; NIPR Spokesperson of the year, Olufemi Soneye of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd; President and Chairmanof the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, Dr. Ike Neliaku and his wife with a winner at the National Spokesperson Awards 2025 organised by the Institute, held in Abuja, recently
