By Bisi Bamishe
Prominent Nigerians have confirmed their participation in the Realnews 11th Anniversary Lecture. They include Mohammed Bello-Koko, Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director, Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON); Kayode Adebayo, Director of Proceeds of Crime Department, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Felix Obiamalu, Associate Director, Legal and Sanctions, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
Bello-Koko will chair the lecture, which will be delivered by Edwin W. Harris Jr., Director General of the ECOWAS Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and also moderate the discussion session featuring Adedayo and Obiamalu as discussants. Kuru will also keynote the Lecture.
Confirming his participation in his acceptance letter dated August 10, 2023, Bello-Koko, expressed “his willingness to attend the event”.
Also, Kuru was “delighted to confirm his availability and acceptance to speak at the event as proposed” in a letter to dated August 29, 2023.
The Management of Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited, publishers of Realnews Magazine Online, had announced that the lecture on “Threats of Illicit Funds Flow to the African Economy” will hold at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, starting by 10 am.
Maureen Chigbo, the publisher of Realnews, said there will be an investiture of all the speakers into The Realnews Hall of Fame immediately after the Lecture. Chigbo explained that the Realnews Hall of Fame was established to honour only those who played key roles during the anniversary lectures.
Realnews, a general interest magazine, is an online publication that thrives on investigative journalism. We have expertise in reporting the oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental challenges. We aim to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they are facing in their day-to-day activities. We do this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, our objective is to use our investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors we focus on and produce an unbiased report which will actually influence the government and decision-makers to take actions that will make society better.
Realnews is populated by seasoned journalists who believe strongly in the tenets and ethics of the profession. The online publication believes that journalism as the fourth Estate of the Realm can contribute its quota towards building a fair and just society where fundamental human rights are respected and citizens have the freedom to pursue their interests anywhere in the world without hindrance. Its editors have a combined experience of several decades in active journalism practice and are highly dedicated to serving humanity. Hence its motto: “For God and Humanity.”
Realnews Anniversary Lecture Series was established to commemorate the best minds in our society and to tap from them to enrich the discourse in our national development.
The 10th Anniversary Lecture in 2022 was given by Brig. General Buba Marwa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA; 9th Anniversary Lecture of Realnews in 2021 was delivered by Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on “Nigeria in the Unfolding Integration of the African Market: The Oil and Gas Perspective”; 2020 Eighth Anniversary Lecture of Realnews was delivered by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 on Managing COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa: The Nigeria Experience; Former President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana gave the 2019 Lecture on Beyond Politics: An Economic Narrative for West Africa while Prof. Mahmood Yakubu spoke on Political Transitions and Africa’s Economic Development: Preparations for Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections at the 2018 Lecture. The 2017 Fifth Anniversary Lecture on African Leadership in a Turbulent Era was delivered by Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of Education and former World Bank Vice President. The 2016 Fourth Anniversary Lecture on Security and National Development in Plural Democratic Society was delivered by Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, former United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative to West Africa and Sahel; the 2015 Realnews Third Anniversary Lecture was delivered by Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on November 19, 2015, under the theme: It’s The Nigerian Economy, Stupid? The Second Realnews Anniversary Lecture on Nigerian Democracy: Getting it Right in 2014 was delivered by Professor Maurice Iwu, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
