…we hope to win – National Pilot MD
All roads lead to the Celebration Gardens, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos State tomorrow (Friday) 6th July, 2018 for the third edition of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) Awards.
The award which is in various categories, will be based on merit, according to the organisers of the programme.
The categories include .ng Company of the Year, Most Innovative Service Provider Online, Best Banking or Insurance Website/Portal, Best E-payment Website/Portal, Best Tertiary Institution website/portal, Startup Company of the year and Best Local Hosting Company.
Others are Best State Government in Digital innovation, Best Federal Government Agency/Parastatal/MDAs in Digital innovation, Best Print Media Website, Best Online Media Website and Best Electronic Media Website (Television/Radio).
Recall that voting for nominees in various categories commenced on May 10 and closed by midnight of Friday June 22 2018.
The nominees, the industry-led association noted, were nominated by members of the public, while the Awards committee reviewed and assessed all entries/nomination for eligibility and qualification before the final short-list nominees were released for public voting via the website.
According to NiRA, “The .ng Awards celebrate the achievements and innovation of Nigerian Internet initiatives. The awards aim to showcase Nigerian businesses, individuals, charity, public and private sector organisations which help to make the Internet a more secure, open, accessible and rewarding experience for all.
” At the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), we believe in the power of the Internet and are determined that the .ng domain name space, has a positive impact on the lives of Internet users. We acknowledge the great work being done out there and desire the populace to know about it, talk about it, engage with it and put it into the spotlight.
“Our annual .ng Awards are open to any organisation or individual whose activity online is outstanding, using the .ng domain name.”
Awards criteria met by the nominees of the 2018 .ng award the associated stated are “Company, organisation or individual must have registered and is doing business with a .ng domain name.
“The Domain name must have been registered for over six (6) months.
“The website associate with the domain name must be active on the Internet.”
The winners of the Award will emerge through the processes of voting and judging.
While voting for nominees by the general public attracts 40% of the total voting score, the Jury vote will carry 60% of the total voting score.
Speaking on the Awards, the President of NiRA, Sunday Folayan, affirmed that “The award is meant to promote and commend the excellent achievements of members, stakeholders and the general public, who contribute towards building a sustainable economy using technology, uplift the image of .ng locally and internationally and stimulating the development of local content on the Internet space.
The industry-led association seeks to recognise and acknowledge those who are contributing to the growth of the .ng domain name registration and promotion of the DNS Industry. Using the .ng Awards, NIRA celebrates the achievements and innovation of Nigerian Internet initiatives
He explained that the .ng string is a critical National resource and Nigeria’s unique identity on the World Wide Web, adding that NiRA is the Registry for the .ng domain name and maintains the database of names registered in the .ng country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) name space in the interest of Nigerians and the global Internet community.”
He added that all NiRA activities seek to create awareness of the Nigerian online identity, while the price charter seeks to progressively reduce the price of the .ng domain name based on the number of active 2nd level .ng domain names.
The Association said it appreciated the active role(s) everyone is playing in developing the DNS industry in Nigeria, and look forward to a successful 2018 .ng Awards Ceremony.”
Meanwhile, National Pilot newspaper was nominated in two categories “Best Print Media Award” and “Best Online Media Website” for the 2018.ng Awards.”
According to the organisation, the “Best Print Media Award” category recognises excellence in journalism and other media related activities based on the level of local and original content promoted with .ng domain name.
“The National Pilot was nominated by the general public and assessed by the award jury as fulfilling the criteria for this category.”
Other newspapers nominated alongside National Pilot for both the “Best Print Media Award” and “Best Online Media Website” include; Daily Trust, Guardian, Tribune, Leadership and Daily Times Newspaper.
Speaking on the chances of the medium at the Awards, the Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief, Alhaji Billy Adedamola expressed optimism that National Pilot would emerge winner in the categories it was nominated for.
In an interview, the MD said, ” We have high esteemed for the NiRA Awards as far as we are concerned, we have done all that is expected of us and necessary to win the award but then the final decision rests with the panel of judges that will decide the eventual winner.
“We hope to win the award but then we also feel proud to be nominated from among all the newspapers in Nigeria. We are among the best because newspapers like the Punch and Nation were not nominated.”
He stated that being nominated is as good as wining, noting that National Pilot by the nomination has been adjudged among the best in the country.
“If victory comes our way we’ll be very happy and if we did not win, we have nothing to be ashamed of because this is a relatively young paper when compared to others and the resources available to us.
“You can imagine that our newspaper was given two nominations when a paper like Tribune that has been in existence since 1949 is only given one nomination. We are confident to emerge victorious at the end of the day.
“We are very sure of making our readers, who have been supporting us and Kwara State proud. I’m looking forward to victory by the special grace of God tomorrow.
“Our readers have kept their faith with us over the years and we are also proud that we have not let them down. We worked hard to keep hope alive and the glory that is coming with this nomination that we are winning also goes to them.
While commending the management and staff of the newspaper for the feat, he solicited for prayers from readers and members of the public for National Pilot to emerge winner.
We seek for prayers from our readers that in the next 24 hours between today and tomorrow the award will be given out and the winner will be decided. And whatever happens they too are winners and should continue to support us.
