By Michael AMAJAMA
Nigeria’s Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan has been returned as the Secretary General of the African Public Relations Association, APRA, alongside Mr. Arik Karani of Kenya as president and Professor Michele Mekeme of Cameroon as vice president.
The decision was reached at the association’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday, July 16 in Swakopmund, Namibia.
The re-election took place at the sidelines of the Effective Communicators Conference which had in attendance the Vice President of Namibia, Lucia Witbooi, Vice President of Botswana, Ndaba Gaolathe, as well as Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Namibia, Emma Theofelus and other top government functionaries.
The General Assembly commended the Executive Council for its strong performance over the past two years, citing significant progress in strengthening national and regional public relations associations across the continent, fostering strategic collaboration with ICT ministers and other key stakeholders in Africa, and establishing robust governance and operational frameworks to enhance the Association’s effectiveness and sustainability.
In recognition of these accomplishments, the General Assembly unanimously approved the re-election of the Association’s three elective executive council members.
They are expected to serve alongside the non-elective member, Chief Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, the immediate past President.
The Assembly also ratified APRA’s new constitution which expands the executive council to include a treasurer, assistant secretary general, and six regional coordinators representing East Africa, Francophone Africa, Indian Ocean Islands and other African-Associated Islands, North Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa.
The re-elected Council has been mandated to institute processes to fill the new positions before the 37th Annual Conference of the Association, taking place concurrently with the World Public Relations Forum, WPRF, in Abuja from 15th – 21st November 2026.
Speaking on behalf of the Council, President Arik Karani thanked delegates for their confidence and pledged to advance APRA’s strategic plan, particularly its collaboration with the African Union (AU) in supporting the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa.
