NIJ named after Isa Funtua

Officials of Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) have named the newly rebuilt Nigerian Institute of Journalism House in Lagos as Ismaila Isa House.

A statement on Wednesday, signed by NPAN’s President Nduka Obaigbena, on behalf of the collective leadership of the Nigerian Media, said they renamed the building to immortalize Isa Funtua “for his untiring contributions to the development of journalism and freedom of the press in Nigeria and around the world.”

The statement said it was a privilege to honour the life and times of Malam Ismaila Isa Funtua, who died on Monday, July 20, 2020, “after a life of dedicated service to Nigeria that spanned politics, business and media.”

According to the statement, “His contributions to the development of journalism is innumerable: including, but not limited to his co-founding of Democrat Newspapers; presidency of the NPAN at a time of national crises, and later a life patron; services to the international Press Institute where he served on the global board; contributions to journalism education as Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, ETC, ETC. Samaila Isa Funtua, 1942 -2020, will be deeply missed but not forgotten.”