The appointment of Oladapo Olufemi Soneye as the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd has received a groundswell of support and laudation by the Nigerian media.
An urbane, professional journalist and former U.S.-based media executive who, for over a decade, utilized his digital news platform, Persecondnews, to promote Nigeria’s image and democratic principles on a global scale, was named on Wednesday, October 18, in a statement by the NNPCL management.
Apart from individual media houses applauding the appointment, the umbrella body for digital publishers – the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) — has also lauded the NNPCL over the appointment of the publisher of Per Seconds News, Mr. Olufemi Oladapo Soneye, as the CCCO.
GOCOP is a registered non-governmental, non-partisan, non-profit organisation, made up of owners of online publication
The GOCOP President, Maureen Chigbo, expressed support and joy over the appointment and urged him to remain a good ambassador of the guild.
“GOCOP endorsed the appointment of the media guru, he can count on the Guild for maximum support,’’ a statement signed by the President on Thursday said.
Until his appointment, Soneye was the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Per Second News from 2012 to date where he was responsible for the commercial strategy of the Per Second News, Communications and the Mount Olive group.
Soneye served in the United States Air Force, Joint Base Andrews, Washington-DC between 2009 to 2015. Specifically, he was at the Health Services Management Officer of the 459th Aerospace Medicine Squadron.
Also, he was the Editor of the squadron’s Air Force One Newsletter of the 459th Air Refueling Wing, Andrews Air Force Base between 2009 and 2013 where he was providing guidelines to authors for preparing and submitting manuscripts.
In 2007, Soneye worked as the Business Sales Manager of Comcast Cable Communications, Maryland, U.SA.
His career as a reporter started in 1999 at the Independent Sports Weekly, Apapa, Lagos later Leaders Newspapers- Darling Harbor, Sydney, Australia in 2000 where he worked Part-Time as a reporter.
Education profile
He graduated from the Mclay College, Sydney, NSW, Australia in 2000 and went on to acquire a Diploma in International Studies at the prestigious Montgomery College Rockville, Maryland, USA between 2005-2006.
Between 2008 and 2010, Soneye got certification in Health and Applied Sciences at the Community College of the Air Force.
He has attended about 12 career advancement programmes including 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, UK in 2018; IAPP Data Protection Conference Paris, France (2018); Leadership, IP, Innovation conference, Brussels, Belgium (2018); Strategic Management in Public Service in IDKA, Italy (2014) and Strategic Intelligence Analytics, Canary Wharf, London among others.
Soneye has dutifully fulfilled his responsibilities as an accomplished journalist, publisher, and conscientious citizen. Before relocating to Nigeria over a decade ago, he produced articles and writings that were well-researched and informed, with the intention of bolstering corporate governance of government and private enterprises, as well as companies, in order to improve their capacity to serve the public and remain solvent. These contributions aimed to promote nation-building and enhance the quality of good governance.
A foundation member of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Soneye is also a member of reputable professional bodies including the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the National Association of Black Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists.
He also held sway as the President of the Nigerian Media Practitioners, Washington, D.C. while covering the United Nations activities in New York.
More about Femi Soneye
Investigative journalism, economic reporting, and maritime sector coverage are among his areas of expertise. He has also provided coverage for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) prior to its transformation into a full-fledged CAMA company, and the maritime industry.
Soneye has additionally functioned as a media consultant for numerous institutions, corporations, and government entities, assisting them in the development of initiatives that bolster their capabilities to fulfil their mandates.
His role and responsibilities as a communication officer is not new terrain as he would be developing and implementing communication strategies and plans; creating and managing content for various communication channels; monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of communication activities.
Soneye’s proven skills of excellent written and verbal communication, traits and personal attributes, exceptional attention to details, ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines, strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate with others are his forte.
His incisive reports on the sector, particularly the activities of the NNPCL, contributed to the overall communication effort by the NNPCL, thus providing Nigerians with clear insight into some developments in the NNPCL
A cosmopolitan Nigerian of Ijebu, Ogun State extraction, Soneye has, over the years, built a network of high networth of friends across the socio-economic and political landscape of the country, helping to deepen his reports in PSN.
He has been so passionate about effective communication of the operations of the NNPCL to generate public confidence and trust in the entity.
Soneye is expected to draw heavily on his cordial relationship with media professionals in the print, broadcast, and online media to assist him in delivering on his mandate of effectively communicating the activities of the NNPCL to Nigerians and members of the international community.
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