ONLINE publishers in Nigeria on Wednesday converged in the confluence city of Lokoja, the Kogi State for the 2024 edition of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).
The two-day event tagged ‘Lokoja 2024’, holding at the Reverton Hotel, Lokoja, commenced Wednesday with a business session that includes capacity-building, the AGM and visits to a couple of orphanage homes in Lokoja.
This year’s conference, hosted by the Kogi State Government, with a number of partners and sponsors identifying with the Guild, is holding under the theme: “Nigeria: Tackling Insecurity, Power Deficit, and Transitioning to Digital Economy.”
Former governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, will give the keynote address.
The main conference that is open to the public is billed to start in the morning of Thursday, October 3, with several speakers and panellists lined up to speak on the theme.
They include Amb Yusuf Mamman, former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, who is the conference chairman, Lt-General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, former Nigerian chief of army Staff (rtd), and Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Panellists inlcude Rotimi Ajayi, a professor of Political Science at the Federal University, Lokoja, and Debrah M. Ogazuma, an edutainment communicator and veteran broadcaster.
In 2021, Boss Mustapha, as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, keynoted the conference and spoke on: “Post Covid-19 Pandemic: Recovery and Reconstruction in Nigeria.”
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, delivered the keynote at the 2022 edition themed “2023 Elections: Managing the Process for Credible Outcome.”
Corporate organisations on the list of sponsors and partners are National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Delta and Lagos State governments, Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Other sponsors are the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and T-Pumpy Concept Limited.
Others are Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Emadeb Group and Dangote Group, TotalEnergies, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Setraco Nigeria Limited, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Access Bank plc, Zenith Bank plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Fidelity Bank plc, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc (STI), Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) and National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to name but a few.
