Bayo Onanuga

Mr Bayo Onanuga, the new Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Bayo Onanuga, has revealed part of his agenda. He is prepared to make the agency to report from the Nigerian and African perspectives.

Addressing members of staff of the agency in Lagos, Onanuga said he would ensure that the vision and mission of the founders of the agency were realised.
“Part of my mission here is to restore NAN to what it used to be in 1976.
“We have deviated a lot from the vision and mission of those who founded NAN.

“NAN was founded because our government and the entire Africa found out that reports were being written from the jaundiced views of those we called imperialists at that time and their news organs,’’ Onanuga stated.

The MD, however, said the task of strengthening the agency was not his alone.
He, therefore, urged members of staff to give him the kind of support he would need to move the agency forward.

Onanuga said he was aware of the many challenges facing the organisation and promised to do his best to address some of them within the limit of available resources.

He told staffers that the agency was experiencing financial challenges as result of the downturn in the economy.

He urged members of the editorial department to embrace modern technology in the process of news gathering and dissemination, saying it would help strengthen the operations of the agency.

He stated that NAN is “multi-disciplinary“ and can diversify the coverage of news events using various social media platforms.

Earlier, NAN`s Head of Lagos Operations, Mr Joe Bankole, commended the immediate past management for settling some of the agency’s debt.
Bankole, however, said there were still many challenges hindering the performance of the agency as well as members of staff.

He said the Lagos office was experiencing shortage of diesel to power its generators.

He, therefore, appealed to the MD to address the problem.
He also appealed to the MD to address welfare issues of staff, saying it would boost their morale and enhance their productivity.