UPDATED: Ex-Newswatch, The News publishers, others appointed DGs of NTA, NAN, VON

Ibanga Isine

Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, Nigeria

The Federal Government on Wednesday named the chief executives of six agencies under the Ministry of Information and Culture.
The appointments were announced in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.
The new appointees are Ishaq Modibo Kawu – Director-General, Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Mansur Liman – Director-General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); Yakubu Mohammed – Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
Others are Garba Abari – Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Bayo Onanuga – Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and Osita Okechukwu – Director-General, Voice of Nigeria (VON).
The new appointees replaced the chief executives of the parastatals who were removed on February 15, 2016.
Ishaq Modibo Kawu – Director-General, Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC)
Before his appointment, Mr. Kawu was the Chief Executive Officer of Abuja-based media firm, Word, Sound and Vision Multimedia Limited.
He holds a Bachelors degree in Mass Communication and Masters Degree in Political Science. Mr. Kawu has deep and varied experience having reported for Radio Nigeria, Radio France International, Radio Netherlands and BBC World Service.

He was one of the pioneer staff of Radio Kwara, pioneer general manager of Kwara State Television Authority and editor of Daily Trust Newspaper. He was later appointed chairman of the Daily Trust Editorial Board. It was from there he started his own company, Word, Sound and Vision Multimedia Limited. He is from Kwara State, North-central Nigeria.
Mansur Liman – Director-General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN)
Mr. Liman was the head of the British Broadcasting Service, BBC, Hausa Service.
Garba Abari, Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA)
Garba Abari was born on the December 15, 1955 in Potiskum, Yobe State, North-east Nigeria. He had his early education at the Central Primary School, Potiskum and Fika Government Secondary School also in Potiskum.
He holds a Ph.D in Political Science and has taught at the College Of Basic Studies, Maiduguri and the University Of Maiduguri. Before being appointed DG of NOA, Mr. Abari was a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Maiduguri.
He is a member of many professional bodies including the Nigerian Political Science Association, African Political Science Association, Nigeria Society of International Affairs and the Nigeria Economic Summit Group.
Osita Okechukwu – Director-General, Voice of Nigeria (VON)
Mr. Okechukwu is an indigene of Eke community in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State in Nigeria’s South-east.  He is a graduate of the University of Nigeria, UNN, having bagged a Bachelor of Science degree from the institution.
Mr. Okechukwu is a former governorship candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, and the South-East spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
During an interview shortly after Muhammadu Buhari became president, Mr. Okechukwu said that his support for the president was not for personal gains.
“My unalloyed support for President Buhari in the presidential campaign elections of 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 was more than personal. I mean sincerely that it is more of national than personal interest,” he had said.
Bayo Onanuga – Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Mr. Onanuga was born on June 20, 1957 in in Ijebu-Ode, South-east Nigeria. He attended Ijebu Muslim College, Ijebu-Ode, Federal Government College, Odogbolu and the University of Lagos where obtained a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications.

After graduation, Mr. Onanuga worked as client service executive at Practions Partners, and later joined Ogun State Television in 1982. He joined the Guardian Newspaper as a sub-editor in July 1983 but in January 1985 moved to National Concord as senior features writer and later same year as senior correspondent for the weekly magazine, The African Concord.
He was appointed editor of African Concord in 1989. In April 1992, he resigned his appointment and with his colleagues found The News Group in 1993.
Mr. Onanuga had remained editor-in-chief of The News Group before his latest appointment. He is a fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and a member of the World Association of Newspapers.

Yakubu Mohammed – Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
Mr. Mohammed was born on April 4, 1950 in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, North-central Nigeria. He attended St. Joseph Primary School, Anyigba and had his post-primary education at the Government Secondary School, Okene.
He later bagged a Bachelors of Science degree in Mass Communication at the University of Lagos.
Mr. Mohammed was a founding member of the Newswatch Communications Limited, the publishers of the Newswatch magazine. Before the magazine was sold to businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim, Mr. Mohammed was the deputy chief executive officer of the organisation.
An accomplished journalist and columnist, he had shown interest in contesting the governorship of Kogi State under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but later shelved the idea.
Mr. Mohammed has been quiet in both journalism and political scenes for some time until his latest appointment.