IPI NIGERIA TO ENDOW UNIVERSITY PRIZE IN HONOUR OF LATE TREASURER RAFAT SALAMI

The International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria has announced plans to endow a prize at the University of Abuja in honour of its late Treasurer, Rafat Idris Salami. The announcement was made by the President of IPI Nigeria, Musikilu Mojeed, during the opening ceremony of the 2025 IPI Nigeria Conference and Annual General Meeting in Abuja on December 2.

The prize is intended to instil in students of the institution the values that the late treasurer stood for. Salami, who was the Assistant Director of Digital Media at the Voice of Nigeria, died on December 20, 2024, shortly after participating actively in the first annual conference and AGM of IPI Nigeria while ill.

In his welcome address, Mojeed led members and guests, including Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in observing a one-minute silence in her honour. He recounted her dedication, stating, “Last year, even in severe pain and confined to a wheelchair, she insisted on attending the conference. She greeted guests, co-ordinated logistics, took photographs with her phone and served with grace until her body could no longer carry her.”

Mojeed described Salami’s commitment as a reminder that journalism is a calling. “It demands sacrifice; It demands conviction,” he said. He then announced the endowment, saying, “To honour her legacy, the National Committee of IPI Nigeria will endow a prize in her name at the University of Abuja, which was her alma-mater. 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.”

Salami, who began her career with VON as a News Editor and correspondent in Lagos, rose through the ranks to become Assistant Director in charge of Digital Media. Following her death, she was eulogised by the IPI, the Federal Capital Territory Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists where she served as Secretary, her employer VON, and colleagues.