Ahead of the world congress of the International Press Institute (IPI) scheduled for Abuja, Nigeria from June 21-23, the director of the world body, Barbara Trionfi, will visit the country from Wednesday.

The IPI director will pay courtesy calls on Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, Chairman of Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu, and media owners like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mr. John Momoh, Chairman/CEO of Channels Television.

A statement issued by Mr Eric Osagie, Managing Director of The Sun Publishing Limited and spokesman for the forthcoming Nigerian Congress said the visiting director will start her schedule in Abuja where she will attend a meeting with IPI members/media stakeholders, following which a joint press conference will be addressed by Trionfi and Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman of Congress Organising Committee.

The IPI director will also pay a courtesy visit to the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

The IPI director will also visit Senate President Bukola Saraki and inspect the June congress venue, designated hotels and congress event centres.

The IPI director will be in Lagos on February 23 and 24, where she will hold a meeting with media stakeholders, after which she and Chairman of ThisDay, Prince Nduka Obiegbena, will address a joint press conference.

Trionfi, with background in International Relations and Human Rights, joined the IPI in 2000 as a press freedom adviser for the Asia-Pacific region.

She carried out researches in the field of human rights and freedom of expression.

Trionfi also oversaw IPI’s global press freedom activities. As executive director, she manages IPI’s operations.

The director spoke Monday about the importance of her visit and the hosting rights given to Nigeria, saying: “IPI is excited to hold its World Congress in Abuja this year and thankful to Nigeria’s leading news organisations for hosting it. For many years, IPI’s Nigeria National Committee has shown a great commitment to press freedom and quality journalism.

The Abuja World Congress represents a unique opportunity for IPI’s global network of editors, leading journalists and media executives to build closer ties with their colleagues in Nigeria and West Africa, share experiences and advance a common strategy for safe, independent, public-interest journalism.”

The IPI is a global network of editors, journalists and media executives across the world. The organisation promotes conditions that allow the media to operate free from interference and without fear of retaliation.

IPI defends media freedom and the free flow of news.

This year’s IPI World Congress will attract hundreds of leading editors and journalists from across the world, who will discuss numerous challenges facing journalists.