Media Trust elevates Idris, Iyaji to DEIC, GE

The Media Trust Group, publishers of Daily Trust and Aminiya, and owners of Trust TV, Trust Radio and Digital Trust, has announced the appointment of new editors.

In a statement on Monday, the Chief Executive Officer of the group, and Editor-in-Chief (Print), Ahmed I. Shekarau, announced that the appointments were approved by the company’s Board of Directors at its 90th meeting held on the 17th and 18th of September, 2024.

He revealed that Hamza Idris has been appointed as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Daily Trust and chairman of its Editorial Board, while Stella O. Iyaji assumes the role of General Editor.

He added that Sagir Kano Saleh has been given the added role of serving as Editor of both the print and digital arms of Aminiya, the group’s weekly vernacular newspaper being published in Hausa.

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While wishing the new appointees successful tenures, Shekarau urged them to leverage their experience to further the goals, objectives, and mission of the company.

Idris, prior to his elevation, served as the General Editor of Daily Trust for two years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from the University of Maiduguri, and a Master of Science in the same field from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

He joined Media Trust Limited in September 2005 as a Reporter/Researcher, and subsequently served as a correspondent in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states. In 2010, he became the North East Bureau Chief, operating 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 Editor of Daily Trust in September 2019.

Idris is also a member of the Daily Trust Editorial Board and has received several accolades, including being a Fellow of the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ, 2013), an Alumnus of the Professional Fellows Programme (Washington D.C., 2013), and a member of Swiss Peace (Switzerland, 2015).

Ms Iyaji, the new General Editor, holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Language from the University of Maiduguri and a Master’s degree in English Language from the University of Abuja.

She began her journalism career at the Imo Broadcasting Corporation in Owerri during her National Youth Service Corps scheme. Iyaji later joined DBN Television in Abuja as a Reporter, News Editor and Producer, covering the police, the judiciary, and the Senate.

She joined Media Trust as an Assistant News Editor (States and Regions) and was appointed Deputy Editor of Daily Trust on Sunday in 2016. In September 2019, she was redeployed as the Deputy Editor of the flagship title and later became the Managing Editor.

As part of the company’s efforts to integrate its units under the current group structure, she was appointed Planning and Commissioning Editor in September 2023.

In July of this year, the company merged its weekend titles into one, and she was tasked with leading that production as the Weekend Trust Editor until her recent elevation.

Iyaji is also a member of the Daily Trust Editorial Board.

Saleh, prior to his promotion, served as the Online Editor for Aminiya, an arm of Digital Trust.

Before joining Media Trust Group, he worked as a broadcast journalist with the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

He previously held positions as News Editor and Head of Programmes in the Hausa Service, Radio, Television, and Content units at Atar Communications Nigeria Limited, owners of Liberty TV/Radio.

While at Iqra Publishing House in Kaduna, Saleh supervised a project for the compilation, edition, and reproduction of over 100 Arabic manuscripts and books authored by the three leaders of the Sokoto Caliphate: Sheikh Usman Bn. Fodio, Sheikh Abdullahi bn. Fodio, and Sheikh Muhammad Bello, along with their translations into Hausa and English.

A graduate of Mass Communication from Bayero University, Kano, he also briefly worked as a Duty Continuity Announcer and newsreader at the Kaduna State Media Corporation’s Kada FM, AM Service, and Capital Sounds.