The International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria is to endow a prize at the University of Abuja in honour of its late treasurer, Rafat Salami.
In a statement on Friday, IPI Nigeria said the prize to be endowed would be to instil in students of the institution the values that the late treasurer stood for.
IPI Nigeria President, Musikilu Mojeed, confirmed the decision at the opening ceremony of the 2025 IPI Nigeria Conference and Annual General Meeting in Abuja.
Salami, the then Assistant Director of Digital Media at the Voice of Nigeria (VON), died on Dec. 20, 2024, just days after the first annual conference and AGM of IPI Nigeria.
She had participated actively in spite of being ill.
Speaking on her death at the forum, Mojeed requested members and guests, including Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, to observe a minute silence in her honour.
“Last year, even in severe pain and confined to a wheelchair, she insisted on attending the conference.
“She greeted guests, coordinated logistics, took photographs with her phone and served with grace until her body could no longer carry her.
“Her commitment was a reminder that journalism is not merely a job, it is a calling. It demands sacrifice; it demands conviction,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Salami was a graduate of the University of Abuja.
“We will work with the university to ensure that every year, young journalists are inspired by the values Rafat lived by— integrity, courage, and selfless service,” Mojeed said.
When she died last year, Salami was eulogised by the IPI, FCT Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, where she had served as Secretary, her employer, VON, and colleagues.
Salami began her career with VON as a News Editor and Correspondent in Lagos.
She rose through the ranks to become VON’s Assistant Director in charge of Digital Media before her demise.(NAN)(www.nanews.ng)
Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz
