Pioneer Chief Economist and former Chairman of the Editorial Board of BusinessDay newspaper, Dr Ogho Okiti on Monday, January 6 resumed as the new Managing Director of the publication.
He announced his resumption in a tweet via his twitter handle @Dr_Okiti stating that he was delighted and expressed thanks for best wishes on his appointment.
“I look forward to the exciting opportunity to help shape the future of business journalism in the country,” Okiti stated.
The board of the BusinessDay Media Limited in a statement by the Chairman, Richard Ikiebe announced Okiti’s appointment in December 2019 to replace founder of the financial daily, Frank Aigbogun, who will stay on as publisher.
“This appointment marks a remarkable milestone in the history of the business and perhaps, more importantly, it is the start of a well-planned succession process which is seeing a new and younger leadership enthroned,” Ikiebe said.
Okiti holds a PhD in Development Economics from the University of Manchester and worked as an economic researcher and analyst at the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS), where he helped to develop a robust monthly and quarterly statistics of government output on social security, adult and children social services. He also served in the office of Nigeria’s chief economic adviser to the president.
“I am excited about the opportunity to be part of the future of this great company and look forward to working with all the journalists and supporting staff that make BusinessDay a great place,” Okiti said.
While congratulating Okiti on his appointment, some respondents to his tweet offered suggestions on how to improve the content of the publication.
Congratulations to you. Trust you would bring your keen professionalism & expertise to bear in making BusinessDay a delightful & compulsory read for business leaders on the continent of Africa. – Felix Jarikre
Congratulations. Please steer the Businessday Newspaper away from ethno-religious and partisan commentaries. You are primarily a business journal with readers across ethnic and partisan divides. – Mo Shehu @moshehu
Congratulations to you sir. May your time bring a new dimension to business journalism in Nigeria. I am a daily reader. – Oluwole Dada @oluwole_dada
Remember to be nonpartisan and by all means, please avoid sensational journalism. Fingers crossed… – Wale Kembi @Kembox
Aigbogun, who was inspired to launch BusinessDay during his work on the Vision 2010 committee which was
charged with drawing up a long-term economic vision for Nigeria, said he is delighted handling over the role of managing the company to Ogho at this time.
“I now hope to give some attention to supporting the practice and quality of our journalism along with the urgent task of pushing our digital migration and making it a sustainable business,” he said
Aigbogun began his journalism career in 1982 at The Guardian and moved over to Vanguard where he rose to become editor of all the newspaper’s titles. He was also Lagos correspondent of the Associated Press (AP) for some years.
“Whatever we have done, we did simply because God helped us. Nothing more fulfilling for a business owner than to look into the future with hope and satisfaction. It is our duty while we can, to help Ogho and his team to succeed,” Aigbogun said.
