Four PREMIUM TIMES’ journalists emerged as finalists at the 28th Diamond Award for Media Excellence (DAME) which held on Sunday at Sheraton hotel, Lagos.

The journalists and their categories are: Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, Investigative Reporting category; Cletus Ukpong, Education Reporting; Nicholas Ibekwe, Lagos Reporting and Adejumo Kabir, News Photography category.

While two of them emerged winners in their categories, two others were first runners-up in their categories.

While giving an opening remark at the awards, Lanre Idowu, the Supervising Trustee of DAME, said the best were shortlisted for awards.

“The media is an important institution in nation building. DAME awards honour journalists who have distinguished themselves in different areas of the career to represent the best interest of the country,” he said.

The 28th DAME Awards finalists and winners were selected by a team of 15 judges.

Having received multiples entries, all with rich works, selecting the finalists was a rigorous work for the judges, he added.

The 28th DAME Awards had 16 categories, sponsored by various organisations including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Nestle Nigeria, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (Jamb), the Lagos State Government, among others.

Below are the 28th DAME award winners from different categories:

Best Designed Newspaper

Punch Newspapers (Winner)

This Day Newspaper (First runner-up)

Vanguard New paper (Second runner-up)

Editorial Cartooning

Bennet Omeke; The Punch – Power of the Broom? (Winner)

Chukwuemeka Cornelius; New Telegraph – Jumbo allowances for senators and governors (Runner-up)

News Photography

Olugbon Saheed; The Punch – Fifteen years after retirement, struggle continues. (Winner)

Adejumo Kabir; Premium Times – Nigerian Police officer caught on camera taking bribe (first runner-up)

Ayodele Adeniran; The Guardian – From mega city to mega dump (Second runner-up)

Agriculture Reporting

Chikodi Anthony; The Nation – How smuggling stalls rice self-sufficiency target (Winner)

Dauda Sulaimon; The Nation – ETLS: Conduit for palm oil smuggling (First runner-up)

Isioma Madike; New Telegraph – Fish farming: Graduates response to Nigeria’s unemployment crisis (Second runner-up)

Child Friendly Medium

Daily Trust (Winner)

This Day (First runner-up)

Vanguard (Second runner-up)

Lagos Reporting

Nicholas Ibekwe; Premium Times – How Lagos govt sidelined local operators for foreign company with no experience in waste collection (Winner)

Tope Omogbolagun; The Punch – Lagos dump where scavengers trade in used syringes, other surgical waste (First runner-up)

Tunbosun Ogundare; Nigerian Tribune – Drama as Lagos teachers use pidgin to teach on Yoruba Day (Second runner-up)

Investigative Reporting

Fisayo Soyombo; The Cable – with N46, 000, I drove a ‘stolen’ car from Abuja to Lagos and back (Winner)

Adbulaziz Abdulaziz; Premium Times – How Saraki’s National Assembly spent N6.6 billion Adeosun largesse on exotic cars (First runner-up)

Innocent Duru; The Nation – Failed Constituency projects rock Ekiti Communities (Second runner-up)

Education Reporting

Cletus Ukpong; Premium Times – Learning in tears: Inside the massive decay in public schools in oil – rich Akwa Ibom (Winner)

Afeez Hanafi; The Punch – Double trouble for visually impaired pupils in Nigerian schools (First Runner-up)

Kofoworaola Belo-Osagie; The Nation – Out of school… Out of Touch (Second Runner-up)

Other categories of the award include Sports Reporting, Judicial Reporting, Nutrition Reporting, Editorial Writing, and Informed Commentary.

In the category of Newspaper of the Year, The Punch emerged winner while The Nation and Premium Times were first and second runners-up respectively.

The Punch’s Editor, Martin Ayankola also won the Editor of the year category while The Nation’s Editor; Gbenga Omotosho and Premium Times’ Editor Muskilu Mojeed emerged first and second runners-up respectively.