Lekan Otufodunrin elected president of WACC Africa region
- Nigerian journalist Lekan Otufodunrin has been elected president of the Africa region of the World Association for Christian Communication.
- He and other new executive members were chosen at a virtual general assembly and will serve four-year terms.
- Otufodunrin says the team will push programmes on digital, gender and climate justice across the continent.
Veteran Nigerian journalist Lekan Otufodunrin has been elected to lead the Africa region of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC).
The election took place at the association's general assembly, held virtually, according to statements from the body. The new regional executive will hold office for four years.
Otufodunrin, who heads the Media Career Development Network and is president of Journalists for Christ International Outreach in Nigeria, has spent more than four decades in journalism.
Who else joins the executive
Amie Joof-Cole of the Inter-African Network for Women, Media, Gender and Development (FAMEDEV), Senegal, was elected vice-president. Blessing Oladunjoye of the BO Foundation for Inclusive Media, Nigeria, is the new secretary.
Mwendwa Kivuva, a trustee of the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), takes the treasurer role. George Stewart, a media development specialist from Liberia, and Nigerian journalist Opeyemi Lawal were elected as alternate members.
The association said Otufodunrin and Joof-Cole were also nominated to sit on the board of WACC UK.
In his acceptance remarks, Otufodunrin said he joined WACC in 1998 and that the body had sharpened his practice and widened his professional network over the years. He pointed to the late Dr Christopher Kolade, a former international president of WACC, as an inspiration.
"I'm looking forward to working with the new executive to advance the mission of WACC in the continent and beyond," he said.
He said the team would run programmes built around digital justice, gender justice and climate justice, among other concerns.
At the assembly, Kehinde Adegboyega of the West Africa Digital Rights Defenders Coalition gave a keynote address on digital justice in Africa. He called for universal access to the internet, safeguards for rights and control of data by African countries.
"No digital future is just until it is inclusive, free and grounded in dignity for all Africans," he said.
Sarah Macharia, WACC's global staff liaison for the Africa region, thanked the outgoing executive led by Matomklawè Kpalla for its work and asked the incoming team to raise the association's profile further on the continent.
What happens next
The new executive has four years to deliver its programmes, which Otufodunrin said will focus on digital, gender and climate justice on the continent.
