Senior officials of the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), NIM, visited the headquarters of PREMIUM TIMES in Abuja to seek partnership ahead of the institute’s annual conference scheduled for 7–9 September 2025.
The delegation, led by the Registrar of the institute, Taiwo Olusesi, included the North-Central Zonal Chairperson, Ibrahim Aminu; Garki Chapter Chairperson, Cecilia Oparamisis; Director of Field Operations, Chukwe Ewelemo; Shitu Shuaibu; and other council members.
They were received by PREMIUM TIMES Managing Editor Idris Akinbajo, alongside Senior Investigative Journalist Kabir Yusuf, Senior Manager for Business and Partnerships Olayinka Lawal, Admin Manager Willie Obase-Ota and Chiamaka Ozurumba.
Speaking at the meeting, Ms Olusesi praised PREMIUM TIMES for its contribution to investigative journalism in Nigeria, citing its landmark work on the Panama Papers.
She explained that the Abuja conference will be the largest gathering of management professionals in Africa and urged PREMIUM TIMES to support it with media coverage.
“We want a partnership with reputable media outlets, and that’s why we are here,” she said.
“The purpose of our visit is to seek collaboration with PREMIUM TIMES, not only for this conference but also for our subsequent programmes. We want a position whereby, when NIM is being reported, PREMIUM TIMES also takes pride of place as one of our media partners.”
The conference will open with a welcome cocktail on 7 September at the Abuja Chamber of Commerce National Conference Centre, followed by the official opening ceremony on 8 September.
Established in 1961, NIM is Nigeria’s oldest management professional institute. According to Ms Olusesi, it has over 200,000 individual members and more than 400 corporate members nationwide.
She said the institute is strengthening its ties with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to attract young Nigerians who registered with NIM during their service year but had not collected their certificates.
“Many are now realising that the certificate they ignored at the time is a gold, a legal tender,” she said.
Ms Olusesi added that the institute operates in all six geopolitical zones, has 122 chapters across the country, and is preparing to launch a new chapter in the United Kingdom and Ireland later this month to serve its diaspora members.
In response, Mr Akinbajo, welcomed the delegation and described the visit as the beginning of a potentially long-term partnership.
He promised that the media organisation would amplify the NIM conference.
Mr Akinbajo also highlighted the mission of PREMIUM TIMES as an accountability-driven news organisation.
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“We are an online newspaper primarily devoted to promoting accountability in Nigeria. We use investigative journalism to make our society more transparent and open,” he said.
He noted that despite challenges, the newspaper remains committed to sustaining democracy and has expanded its operations with offices in Abuja, Lagos and Uyo.
“We are happy with this partnership,” Mr Akinbajo said. “There is a lot we can do together.”
