About Us

Group Chief Executive Officer

Shekarau, Ahmed Ibrahim, anipr.

Ahmed I. Shekarau obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication from the
University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. He has attended numerous professional courses in Journalism and Corporate
Communications, and is a member of various professional bodies, including the Nigerian Guild of Editors
(NGE), where he was Vice President (North) from 2012 to 2014; the Advertising Practitioners’ Council of
Nigeria (APCON); and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

He joined Weekly Trust, the flagship publication
of Media Trust Limited, as a Freelance Reporter in 1999. He was at different times Group Business Editor,
Daily Trust and Weekly Trust; Group Political Editor, Daily Trust and Weekly Trust. He reached the zenith of
his career in journalism in 2005 when he was appointed pioneer Editor, Sunday Trust (now Daily Trust on
Sunday).

Shekarau had stints in the corporate
communications departments of Unity Bank Plc and defunct Oceanic Bank Plc and also Abuja Electricity
Distribution Company (AEDC).

He re-joined the services of Media Trust Limited
as the General Manager, Business and Strategy, where he oversees the Business Department, which is
responsible for sourcing advertisements, promoting sales, commercial printing, events & conferences,
brand marketing, as well as research. He also provides support to the CEO/Editor-in-Chief in developing and
launching initiatives geared towards opening new marketing opportunities the company.

Group Executive Director, Finance, Investment, and Infrastructure

Mamman, Nura Daura

A seasoned accountant, Nura from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria with a B.Sc. Accounting in 1996. He obtained Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the same institution in 2007. He started his professional career in 1997 at the New Nigeria Development Company Limited (NNDC) as Officer, Treasury Services. He moved up the ladder at NNDC to the position of a Senior Manager, Group Internal Auditor, before leaving in April, 2010.

He joined the services of Media Trust Limited in May, 2010 as Asst. General
Manager/Internal Audit Department and in October 2015 he was promoted to Head the Finance Department of
the Company. He is saddled with formulating and ensuring adherence to company’s financial policies, as
well as overseeing company’s budget, credit control, costing and profitability analysis. In January,
2019, he was appointed as the company’s Ag. Executive Director (Finance, Accounts and Investment)
and the acting appointment was confirmed on 1st January 2020.
He has attended several International and Local courses over the years.

He was appointed
Acting Chief Executive Officer in June, 2020, following the retirement of  Malam Mannir Dan-Ali.

He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM).

Group Executive Director, Digital and Editorial

Naziru Mikailu

Before joining Daily Trust, Naziru spent over a decade at the BBC World Service in senior management roles. He
started his journalism career as an intern with the Triumph newspaper in his Kano hometown, northern Nigeria
before moving to the country’s capital, Abuja, to work with the defunct Standard Voice newspaper.

Naziru joined the BBC World Service in 2009 as a multimedia broadcast journalist. Stationed in Nigeria and the
UK, he covered global and regional news before becoming the BBC’s Nigeria Bureau Editor in 2016, leading the
organisation’s teams in Nigeria, Niger, Ghana and Cameroon.

The Kano-born journalist was a recipient of the 2018 World Journalist Fellowship at New York University where he
earned an MA in digital media and innovation. While studying in the US, he developed a working document on
Augmented Reality news app for Voice of America Digital team. He also worked with American news site, Axios, to
help segment their audience and develop some new products. Before joining NYU, he had obtained an MA in New
Media at the University of Leicester and a BA in Mass Communication at Bayero University, Kano.

He has attended several editorial, technical, senior management and leadership courses at the BBC’s Academy in
the UK. He is a member of the Online News Association, the National Association of Black Journalists in the
United States and the National Institute of Public Relations in Nigeria.

Twitter: @nazirumikailu

Group Executive Director Corporate Services

Dr (h.c) Bala, Hadiza I. Acipm. CTC, mitd

Hadiza I. Bala is a human resources specialist with about 28 years cognate experience. She graduated with a
B.Sc. in Political Science from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria in 1989. She obtained a Post Graduate Diploma
in Management in 1993 and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) in 2006 both from the same
institution.

Her experience in Human Resource Management began in 1991 as a Personnel Officer
in the Establishment, Pension & Training Directorate, Audu Bako Secretariat, Kano State, Nigeria.

In 1993, she joined the defunct Bank of the North as a personnel officer and was
also an Industrial Relations Officer in the bank. She was part of several successful negotiations with
unions and management of the defunct bank.

She served in Unity Bank as the Employee Relations Officer, Kano, Zonal Head,
Human Capital Management Department (North West), Unit Head, Employee and Industrial Relations in the Head
Office Abuja, a position she held until her resignation from the bank in October 2012.

She joined Jaiz Bank Plc in November, 2012 as Deputy Head, Human Capital
Management Department and was promoted to Group Head, Human Capital Management Department in June, 2016. She
was responsible for implementing the Human Resource Transformation in the Bank. One of her greatest
achievements was setting up the Jaiz Bank Training Academy in Zaria. She resigned from Jaiz Bank as Group
Head, Human Capital in February, 2019.

She joined the services of Media Trust Limited on March 25, 2019 as the General
Manager, Human Resources and Management Services.

She is a member of several professional bodies including the Chartered Institute
of Personnel Management where she holds a Human Resource Practitioner’s License (HRPL). She is a certified
trainer and consultant (Centre for Management Development) and a member of the Nigerian Institute of
Training and Development. She has attended many courses on labour relations and Executive Management and
Leadership programmes.

Assistant General Manager Special Projects

Mainasara, Abdullahi

Abdullahi Mainasara graduated with an Upper Credit in Accounting in 2003 from Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna,
Nigeria. He obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Management in 2007 from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
Mr. Mainasara also obtained a Masters of Treasury Management with Distinction from Bayero University, Kano,
Nigeria in 2016.

He started his career in 2005 as the Cash officer of the New Nigeria Development
Company Limited (NNDC). As a Deputy Manager from 2011 on posting to NNDC subsidiaries, he served as Head,
Finance & Accounts at Aso Motel, Kaduna and Principal Accountant, Hamdala Hotels, Kaduna up till
2013.

He joined the services of Media Trust Limited in April, 2013 as Manager, Audit
at the company’s Kano Regional Office. Between October, 2016 and February, 2018, he served as the company’s
Copy Sales Manager, where he was responsible for the supervision of efficient distribution and sales of
newspaper produced nationwide by the company. He became a Senior Manager, Audit, in February, 2018.

He is a member of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and
also a member of Chartered Institute of Loan & Risk Management. He has attended several courses within
and outside Nigeria. Most recently, he attended an Executive Development Programme organized by TEXEM UK in
October, 2019.

Managing Editor

Iyaji, Stella O

Miss Iyaji Stella Ojochide  holds a bachelor’s degree in  English language from the University of Maiduguri and
master’s degree also in English language from the University of Abuja.
She started her journalism career at the Imo Broadcasting Corporation in Owerri as a youth corps member.

She later moved to DBN Television, where she worked as a reporter and presenter. While there, she covered
several beats including the police, judiciary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Senate.

Iyaji joined the Daily Trust newspaper in 2009 as an Assistant News Editor and in January 2016, she was elevated
to the position of Deputy Editor, Daily Trust on Sunday. In September  2019, she was made the Deputy Editor of
Daily Trust, a position she held till September 2020, when she was appointed the Managing Editor.

She is also the secretary of the Daily Trust Editorial Board.

Miss Iyaji is a member of various professional bodies and has attended several trainings within and outside
Nigeria.

General Editor, Daily Trust

Idris, Hamza

Hamza Idris holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria and a
Master of Science in the same field from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
He joined the services of Media Trust Limited in September 2005 as a
Reporter/Researcher, and served as a correspondent of the newspaper in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. In
2010, he became the North East Bureau Chief of the newspaper and operated from Daily Trust’s regional office
in Maiduguri. In 2015, he was transferred to the headquarters in Abuja as Group Politics Editor, a position
he held until his appointment as the Editor of the Daily Trust in September, 2019. He is also a member of
the Daily Trust Editorial Board.
Among others, Idris is a Fellow of the International Centre for Journalists
(ICFJ, 2013), Alumnus of Professional Fellows Programme (Washington D.C., 2013), and Member, Swiss Peace
(Switzerland, 2015).

The Vision:

A world class media company that earns public trust.

Mission Statement:

To disseminate credible information for the good of all stakeholders.

Core Values

• Editorial integrity
• Ethical conduct
• Professionalism
• Constant Innovation
• Production Excellence
• Market Driven
• National Unity & African Brotherhood
• Wold Peace & Sustainable Development