The Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) has expressed delight at the election of one of its members as President of the African Public Relations Association (APRA).

At the continental body’s 28th Annual General Conference held in Calabar last week, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, Managing Director of CMC Connect Buston-Marsteller, was elected President after serving as Secretary General since 2012.

In a statement by John Ehiguese, PRCAN President, the association said that Badejo-Okusanya’s elevation was an attestation to his unwavering commitment and contribution to the growth of the Public Relations practice and the successes he had recorded in other leadership roles over the years. Badejo-Okusanya had been two-time chairman of Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and national council member of the Institute.

“This being the first time a member of PRCAN will be tasked with a continental leadership position, it gives us additional reason to rejoice with you and wish you a successful tenure,” Ehiguese said.

PRCAN also congratulated the APRA leadership for the successful hosting of this year’s APRA International Conference held for the first time in Nigeria. It noted that the conference provided a huge platform for Public Relations practitioners across Africa to converge and create an enabling environment for accurate perception, engender goodwill and deepen understanding of effective performance of Public Relations practice in Africa.

“We believe that your tenure will bring the desired progress needed to propel the growth of the profession, foster unity among practitioners in Africa, and promote African unity and co-operation especially as consultant body to the African Union and its various agencies,” Ehiguese further said.

He then expressed gratitude to APRA for giving PRCAN the opportunity to partner and collaborate to host the first PRCAN Consultants’ Day at the just concluded APRA 2016 Conference. “We are glad to support and further collaborate with APRA in order to drive initiatives that will add intrinsic values to the institutions we both represent and our professional colleagues across Africa,” the PRCAN president pledged.

Founded in 2008, APRA is the successor body of the Federation of African Public Relations Associations (FAPRA). PRCAN is chartered by NIPR Bye Law No 3 of 1993, to cater to the interests of the consultancy side of PR practice in Nigeria. Membership is exclusive to consulting firms whose key executives must be members of NIPR and registered to practice public relations in Nigeria. It currently has a membership of 51 PR firms providing services across at least 21 PR practice areas.

Its primary objective is to promote professional reputation management in Nigeria within the public and private sectors. It is also committed to maintaining professional standards and discipline among members and providing facilities and professional capacity for the public and private sectors to meet their PR consultancy needs.

•Photo shows Mr Bart de Vries, President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) (right), congratulating Mr Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, the new President of the African Public Relations Association (APRA), while Mr Peter Mutie, outgoing APRA President acknowledges, at the just concluded APRA Calabar 2016 Conference.