Amupitan appoints ex-Punch editor Adedayo Oketola as chief press secretary

Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has appointed Adedayo Oketola, a former editor at The Punch, as his chief press secretary (CPS).

Oketola succeeds Rotimi Oyekanmi, who was the CPS to Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate former INEC chairman.

The commission announced the appointment in a bulletin released on Monday, signed by Victoria Eta-Messi, INEC’s director of voter education and publicity.

Oketola’s appointment letter, dated October 24, was signed by Rose Oriaran-Anthony, secretary to the commission.

Oriaran-Anthony described Oketola as a “multi-award-winning journalist with nearly two decades of experience”, urging him to discharge his duties with professionalism and uphold the values of transparency and integrity that define INEC’s mandate.

The commission also commended him for his “inclusive reporting and journalistic excellence.”

Before his appointment, Oketola held various editorial roles at The Punch, including news editor, business editor, and assistant news editor (politics) for the Saturday title.

Oketola had reported across multiple sectors, including information and communications technology, energy, labour, business, and the economy.

His work earned him numerous accolades, both locally and internationally. Notably, he received the Telecoms Reporter of the Year award at the Nigeria Media Merit Awards (NMMA) in 2012 and was honoured as the Mobile Money Reporter of the Year at the Kalahari Mobile Money Awards in 2013.

Additionally, he was a finalist at the Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards in London for two consecutive years in 2012 and 2013.