PREMIUM TIMES’ Publisher, Dapo Olorunyomi, to be honoured by NIJ

The Governing Council and the Academic Board of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism have selected Dapo Olorunyomi, the publisher of Nigeria’s foremost investigative online newspaper, PREMIUM TIMES, as the 2018 Fellow of the institute.

Mr. Olorunyomi’s selection for the fellowship came at the January 31 meeting of the Board following, “a dispassionate evaluation of and recognition of your (Olorunyomi) outstanding contributions to the media industry in Nigeria, especially in the last two decades,” according to Gbemiga Ogunleye, Provost of the NIJ.

The news came two months after Mr. Olorunyomi received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Diamond Award for Media Excellence.

The NIJ said it recognised Mr. Olorunyomi’s contribution to journalism and national development particularly his roles as the Head of Investigations at the now-defunct NEXT newspapers and as the pioneer Chief of Staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, where he instituted a civil society engagement with the Commission.

The institute also noted Mr. Olorunyomi’s founding of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism as well as the “revolutionary journalism” he played alongside his colleagues at THE NEWS, PM NEWS and TEMPO.

“We particularly put on record, your sterling qualities as a great media trainer-a quality you have in common with our Institute,” Mr. Ogunleye said.

“Your establishment of Nigeria’s number one investigative online medium, the PREMIUM TIMES, whose objective is to ‘promote a truly independent media landscape that advances fundamental human rights, good governance and accountability in West Africa, through investigative journalism… resonates with us.”

The conferment of the Fellowship award holds on April 11 during the NIJ Convocation in Lagos.