National Spokespersons’ Awards (NSAwards) has announced the closure of nominations with an unprecedented 224 entries.

The National Spokespersons Awards is the highest honours celebrating outstanding spokespersons in corporate communications, public affairs, politics, media, advocacy, and other domains in Nigeria who have demonstrated outstanding eloquence, integrity, and effectiveness in their roles as spokespeople.

Chairman of the Committee, Segun Mcmedal, said the entries, which started on the 1st of February and closed on the 29th of February 2024, received 224 entries, surpassing last year’s 124 entries by over 70%.

He said the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), in partnership with the award-winning Public Relations outfit, Image Merchants Promotion Ltd. (IMPR), would host the awards ceremony during the forthcoming National Spokespersons’ Summit holding in Abuja later this month.

Mcmedal said: “The upcoming ceremony is a successor to the annual Spokespersons’ Communication Awards (SCA), hosted by Spokesperson’s Digest. The SCA was organised by IMPR, publishers of PRNigeria, Economic Confidential, and Spokespersons’ Digest, for three consecutive years (2021-2023), and it was the most credible platform for honouring the best performing individuals and organisations in strategic communication, crisis communication, media engagement, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) across the country.

“Just like its predecessor, the awards with the endorsement of NIPR will recognise and honour individuals behind some of the most outstanding communication campaigns and initiatives in the fields of public relations and integrated marketing communication in the last year.”

According to the Chairman, the categories with the highest nominations include those for Best Spokespersons in Political Communication, Crisis Management, Public Sector (Federal), Public Sector (State), Corporate Communication, Spokesperson of the Year, and Security Spokesperson of the Year.

Other award categories with reasonable entries include Military Spokesperson of the Year, Best Spokesperson in Environmental Sustainability, and Best Spokesperson in Judiciary, Legislature, and Executive. Others are Best Spokesperson in Diplomatic/Multinational Organisations, Excellence in Regulatory Compliance, and Corporate Governance.

The Chairman also confirmed that nominations were received from the private sector, individuals, and public institutions, adding that the nominations were spread across the country’s six geopolitical zones.

“Our jury will sit and select the finalists that will participate in the main awards. We are seizing the opportunity to recognize the contributions of the chairpersons of state chapters for the massive publicity they gave to the nomination processes,” he said.