CITIZENS COMPASS— The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has once again strengthened the administration and regulation of public relations practice in Nigeria with the launch of the annual Public Relations, Reputation, Ideas, Concepts and Excellence (PRICE) Awards and Prizes. The Awards will serve as the body’s premier system for the curation, recognition, exhibition and celebration of outstanding campaigns and accomplishments in the practice of public relations in Nigeria. The maiden edition of the Awards will take place on Sunday, 7th December 2025, at the Abuja Continental Hotel.
Envisioned as a credible and enduring platform to identify, celebrate, and elevate outstanding individuals, campaigns, and organisations shaping the public relations landscape across sectors, the development of the PRICE Awards peaked in September 2025 when Dr. Ike Neliaku, President and Chairman of Council of NIPR, inaugurated the committee to organise the maiden edition of the Awards. The inauguration of the Committee followed the NIPR Council’s adoption of the report of a technical team saddled with the responsibility of birthing the award.
While inaugurating the 12-member Organising Committee, Neliaku, said, “we have carefully selected you to chart this path for us. Some of you have done us proud on the international stage winning major awards and flying Nigeria’s flag on the global stage. We are challenging you to come and give Nigeria something similar in terms of prestige, class and colour. Now, we are asking you to give Nigeria her own world class Public Relations awards system.” He further urged the committee to “engage stakeholders, sponsors and partners and organise a world class award ceremony.”
The NIPR President also expressed the confidence that the PRICE Awards will not only motivate professionals, practitioners and scholars but enhance Nigeria’s global competitiveness in the global public relations ecosystem, and strengthen brand equity for all stakeholders, including the NIPR as a leading light of public relations and communication management administration and regulation in Nigeria.
Accepting the responsibility of the Committee, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Israel Jaiye Opayemi, a fellow of the Institute and Managing Director/Chief Strategist of Chain Reactions Africa, expressed the committee’s determination to give the Nigerian public relations community a best-in-class award administration and ceremony. Opayemi noted that the PRICE awards would indeed be an opportunity for our own proverbial prophets to be honoured at home. “We have been winning international awards and flying the Nigerian flag on the global stage in far-flung places and before a global audience. Now is the time for the best of us to be honoured right here at home and in the presence of the Nigerian people,” he reiterated Neliaku’s commendation and challenge.
Members of the Committee comprising seasoned public relations professionals and scholars include Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan (Vice Chairman), Dr. Mary Ikoku, Edemekong Uyoh, Adesola Oyawoye, Odoh Diego Okenyodo, Damilola Olujide, Beatrice Okpara, Prince MG Duku, Chief Patrick Ukah, Mrs. Chidinma Awak (Secretary) and Kater Amos Foga (Assistant Secretary).
The PRICE award will honour outstanding works across the gamut of public relations and communications by celebrating the primacy of strategy, creativity, innovation and impact across different strata of the practice. It would also honour emerging public relations talents such as students and young professionals with cash prizes and plaques to underscore the value the NIPR places on creativity and excellence.
The NIPR was established in 1963 and chartered in 1990 through Decree No. 16 (now an Act of the National Assembly, cited as CAP n114 laws of the Federation of Nigeria LFN 2004). It is the first national Public Relations organisation in the world to be chartered. Its enabling law authorises it to register practitioners of public relations, set standards for knowledge acquisition, and regulate the practice and development of public relations in Nigeria. It is supervised by the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation. It is one of Nigeria’s most active, visible and influential professional bodies. Some of its flagship programmes include the National Spokespersons Summit and the Nigeria Public Relations Week but it is in the news weekly promoting the importance and relevance of public relations and responsible communication management.
In 2023, the NIPR succeeded in getting official proclamation making the practice of public relations a cadre exclusively for professional managers across Nigeria. The NIPR partners and collaborates with many institutions, organisations and governments globally to enhance the relevance of public relations practice; it is a leading member of the African Public Relations Association (APRA), and an influential member of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA). Recently, the NIPR won the bid to host concurrently the World Public Relations Forum (WPRF) 2026 and the APRA Annual Conference in 2026, both taking place from 15-21 November 2026.
