By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The General Assembly of the International Press Institute (IPI), Nigerian Chapter, has approved a Constitution for its operations in the country.
The Approval was given at a meeting of IPI held both virtually and physically and hosted by Daily Trust Newspapers on Tuesday in Abuja.
IPI- the global network for senior journalists, publishers, Seasoned Broadcasters and Communication experts- is headquartered in Vienna, Austria and operates under a global constitution.
The Nigerian chapter, otherwise referred to as the Nigerian National Committee, has domesticated the IPI Constitution to suit it’s environment.
The IPI Nigeria constitution provides for an expansion of its current executive committee (Exco) from just the Chairman( now changed to President) and Secretary, to now include the offices of deputy president, assistant secretary, Auditor and legal adviser.
Other resolutions of the meeting chaired by its President, Malam Kabiru A. Yusuf, include deployment of robust measures that would enhance membership drive into the Nigerian chapter of the body, as well as approval of the criteria for such membership recruitment.
According to the provisions of the IPI Nigeria Constitution, membership of the Institute is open to persons active in the field of Journalism in reputable traditional and web news media organisations, freelancers and lecturers/researchers in schools of Journalism/Mass Communication/Communication Arts, or those working in outlets that defend and support the principles of Press Freedom and Rights and the desire to co-operate to achieve the objectives of the global body of the Institute.
According to the Constitution, membership is open to only persons who have spent 10 years and above in a recognised media organisation.
For individual membership, payment of registration fee of N10,000 and annual due of N20,000 is mandatory. .
For corporate membership ( reputable traditional and web news media organisations and platforms operating in Nigeria) it is N50,000 registration fee and N100,000 annual due.
The Constitution provides for a 7-member Board of Trustees for IPI Nigeria, with members entitled to not more than two-terms of five years each.
The General Assembly will reconvene on Tuesday, 23rd March, 2021, to receive the reports of the contact/mobilisation and the property purchase ad hoc committees which were set up late last year, and to also start preparations for the composition for a new executive committee that will pilot the affairs of the IPI Nigeria for the next three years.
