Five Nigerian journalists have been nominated in the final shortlist of the 2015 CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards.
The announcement was made by Chair of the Independent Judging Panel of the awards, Ferial Haffajee on Monday.
The Nigerian nominees are Femi Asu, Punch Newspaper; Adewale Olugbenga Emosu, tribuneonlineng.com; Ibanga Isine, Premium Times; Kola Tubosun, Blogger at ktravula.com; and Arukaino Umukoro, Punch Newspaper.
Extending hearty congratulations to the Nigerian nominees in the 20th edition of the prestigious awards, John Ugbe, Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria urged Nigerian journalists to be objective in their reporting, stating that objectivity promotes excellence in journalism.
Ugbe who revealed that the competition received entries from 39 countries across the continent, including French and Portuguese speaking Africa had 31 finalists from 15 countries, said: “MultiChoice is delighted to once again be associated with these prestigious awards that give respect to the work done by journalists across the African continent. We congratulate our finalists on their achievements and look forward to celebrating with the winners in Nairobi in October.”
Speaking on the awards, Tony Maddox, Executive Vice-President and Managing Director of CNN International said: “The quality and breadth of entries in this, its 20th, year is testament to the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards’ position as the most prestigious recognition for journalism across the continent.
“CNN is privileged to be involved in this important initiative to honor the outstanding work across multiple platforms, topics and journalistic disciplines. I salute the finalists for the great work that they have done and look forward to seeing their future achievements.”
The finalists will enjoy an all-expense paid four day programme of workshops, media forums and networking in Nairobi, Kenya, culminating in a Gala Award Ceremony in October 2015.
In addition, winners from previous years will join this year’s finalists for a special evening to celebrate 20 years of the awards.
The award was established in August 1995 to “encourage, promote and recognise excellence in African journalism”.