The Winner of the Public Affairs Category of the Spokesperson Communication Awards(SCA) 2022, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, has been appointed the Public Relations Coordinator of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Vienna, Austria.
Dr. Gwandu is a media and communication expert with over a decade of professional experience in university lecturing, journalism practice, and media management.
It was gathered that the appointment was meritoriously secured as it was preceded by a written examination, paper presentation and extensive interview on issues relating to public relations in the oil and gas sector.
The final stage of the process was keenly contested by the three top-most applicants from Nigeria, Kuwait and Algeria at the headquarter of OPEC in Vienna where Gwandu scaled and got the prestigious appointment.
A developer of innovative reputation management, image building and corporate communication techniques with a great passion for result-oriented public relations practice, Gwandu is the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Public Relations in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
A recipient of the Wada Waziri Prize for the Best Graduating Students of Journalism of Bayero University Kano (2007/2008 Session), Umar also won Media Trust’s Automatic Employment for the Best Graduating Mass Communication Students of Universities in Nigeria.
Dr. Gwandu who meritoriously secured an all-expense paid scholarship by the India Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), obtained a first-class division Diploma in United Nations and International Understanding from the Institute of UN Studies, New Delhi.
He received multiple awards during his Master’s studies in Mass Communication in India for securing First Class in 2014. He later bagged a Ph.D. degree in Mass Communication specializing in Political Communication at the Department of Mass Communication, BayeroUniversity, Kano – Nigeria.
Some of his working experiences included Correspondent of Daily Trust in Kebbi, Director, Research and outreach of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), Nigeria Office; Coordinator of the Abuja Winter School of IIIT; lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano and a visiting Senior Lecturer, Department of Mass Communication, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
Apart from being a Fellow of the US-based Centre for International Media Ethics (CIME) and West African Society for Communication Administration (WASCA), Dr. Gwandu is a Member of many professional bodies. They include the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE), the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals in Nigeria (ACSPN), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), among others.
