The Group Head, Corporate Communications, Zenith Bank Dr. Chinedu Zephaniah has lauded the Guild Of Online Corporate Publishers for their contributions to national development, and charged them to use their privilege to reshape the future of the country through incisive, objective and constructive reportage.
Dr Zehaniah, who stated this at the Guild of Online Corporate Publishers conference holding in Lagos, praised the members of GOCOP; referring to them as the cream of professional journalists.
The Zenith Bank Group Head of Corporate Communications encouraged them to continue in their noble responsibilities as the fourth estate of the realm and the last hope for building a just and prosperous society.
He charged them to continue to contribute to the fight against unprofessional practices in the field, particularly regarding what he referred to as ‘online junk’ posted by miscreants, who refer to themselves as online editors.
Dr. Zephaniah further noted that the Nigerian Digital Protection Act has stringent provisions against such unprofessional online publishing, and appealed for fair and objective reportage always, especially concerning the economy.
The highly cerebral Zephaniah, an economist and bank communication specialist,with a Ph.D in Marketing Communication, with specialty in bank policy and products communication, expressed hope that GOCOP members will continue to uphold the tenets of the noble profession at all times.
Zeph, as he is popularly called was an Assistant Director at the Central Bank of Nigeria and one of the leading strategic communication and brand specialists at the apex bank before rejoining the Zenith family on June 1, 2024 as Group Head, Corporate Communications.
He is a distinguished academic known for his contributions in the field of banking, finance, and marketing communication and has published numerous articles around his field of Economics and Bank Communication.
In meantime, GOCOP now has a new President in the Publisher of Newsdiary Online, Danlami Nmodu, mni, who defeated Segun Adeleye at the polls, while Sufuyan Ojeifo emerged as the new general Secretary..
Unlike the usual tradition of electing their leaders via consensus, this time around GOCOP went through almost an hour of voting to elect Nmodu as the new helmsman.
The theme of this year’s Annual General Conference was ‘ Reconciling Campaign Promises With Governance Realities: Challenges and Prospects’
The event brought together a diverse group of professionals, experts and stakeholders in the publishing and media industries,with the former President Mareen Chigbo having an opportunity to address the members for the last time in that capacity.
GOCOP restated its commitment to raising the profile of online publishing , and shaping the future of online publishing , especially given the rapid changes in digital media and technologydescribing the conference as an opportunity for members to meet .