Damilola Ayeni has been appointed Editor of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).
The management of the organisation on January 20 announced the appointment of Ayeni who rose from the position of a Reporter to Acting News and Feature Editor within one year of the organization’s establishment and became Acting Editor in December.
Ayeni, 28, holds a Bachelor of Agriculture in Forest Resources and Wildlife Management from Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti.
He was a 2021 finalist of the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist category of the UK Foreign Press Association Awards.
‘Fisayo Soyombo, publisher of FIJ, in his comment described Ayeni’s growth as “impressive”.
“I have worked with a number of younger journalists in my 16 years in the industry, and Ayeni ranks among the very best of them. He has an enormously promising career ahead of him, and FIJ is keen to be part of it. We’re a young organisation and he’s a young journalist; we’re hoping this relationship matures deep into the future,” said Soyombo.
An investigative journalist at FIJ, Gabriel Ogunjobi wrote on the tweet announcing Ayeni’s appointment ” Dami, I have confidence in your abilities to lead FIJ to the next lofty heights. The best, man!”
Commenting on his appointment, Ayeni said: “I am thankful to the management and board of FIJ for trusting me to spearhead such an ambitious project. I’m aware this is a huge responsibility, and I am going to commit my all to this assignment.”