The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has concluded plans to reopen its bureaus in four countries of United Kingdom, South Africa, Ethiopia and Cote d’ Ivoire.
NAN Managing Director, Mr Buki Ponle, disclosed this when he paid a courtesy call on the Consul General of Nigeria in New York, Amb. Lot Egopija, in his office at Nigeria House.
Ponle told his host that NAN had more than 10 foreign offices before it had to shut them down because of inadequate funding.
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As of 1984, NAN maintained bureaus in Nairobi, Cairo, New Delhi, Washington, Moscow, London, New York, Harare and Abidjan.
At present, only the New York office remains open.
“We are planning to reopen these four strategic bureaus in London, Johannesburg, Addis Ababa and Abidjan.
“We are working with Nigerian missions in those countries to renovate our property so that we can put them in use again,’’ he said.
Ponle also said the Agency had restructured its zonal offices in Nigeria from six to 12 to ensure that every nook and cranny of the country is adequately covered.
The structure now has Ibadan Zone with Oyo, Ogun and Kwara as component states while Akure Zone has Ondo, Ekiti and Osun.
Enugu Zone has Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi states while Port Harcourt Zone has Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River with Owerri Zone comprising Imo and Abia.
Benin Zone has Delta, Edo and Bayelsa while Jos Zone has Plateau, Benue and Taraba with Minna Zone comprising Niger, Nasarawa and Kogi.
Bauchi Zone has Bauchi, Gombe and Jigawa while Maiduguri Zone has Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
Kaduna Zone is made up of Kaduna, Kano and Katsina while Sokoto Zone comprises Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states.
The managing director, however, thanked Egopija for supporting NAN New York office, saying,” I am grateful on behalf of the management and staff for your support.”
“We appreciate the collaboration and support we have received from the Consulate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in general and we will continue to do our best to sustain the relationship,” he said.
Earlier, Egopija had welcomed Ponle and commended his visit to his office, noting that the relationship between the Consulate and NAN remained mutual.
He said the Consulate had benefited immensely, over the years from NAN’s reportage in New York.
“NAN highlights our activities and the feedback we receive about those reports has given us courage to do more.
“Since we came in, we started community outreach, whereby we reach out to our nationals and they get to see what we are doing and believe in us.
“We cannot take the glory without thanking NAN for covering our activities,’ he said.
NAN, the country’s national purveyor of information, started operation in 1978.
(NAN)
