There is palpable excitement as the 2024 annual conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, GOCOP, begins today, Wednesday, October 2, in Lokoja.
Hosted by the Kogi State Government with a plethora of partners and sponsors identifying with the Guild, the two-day conference provides a veritable platform for dissecting critical issues of security, power and economy in the country.
The confab will explore the theme: “Nigeria: Tackling insecurity, power deficit, and transitioning to digital economy.”
Former governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, will give the keynote address.
The two-day event will also feature GOCOP members’ exclusive business and capacity building sessions; business lunch with GOCOP sponsors and heads of corporate communications of organisations and media advisers in the country on Wednesday, October 2.
The main conference that is open to the public is on Thursday, October 3.
Confirmed speakers for the event include
Yusuf Mamman, former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, who is the conference chairman, Lt-General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, former Nigerian chief of army Staff (retd), and Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The conference will also feature a panelists session involving Rotimi Ajayi, a professor of Political Science at the Federal University, Lokoja, and Debrah M. Ogazuma, an edutainment communicator and veteran broadcaster.
In 2021, Boss Mustapha, as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, keynoted the conference and spoke on: “Post Covid-19 Pandemic: Recovery and Reconstruction in Nigeria.”
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, delivered the keynote at the 2022 edition themed “2023 Elections: Managing the Process for Credible Outcome.”
Corporates and organisations on the list of sponsors and partners are National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Delta and Lagos State governments, Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Other sponsors are the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and T-Pumpy Concept Limited.
Others are Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Emadeb Group and Dangote Group, TotalEnergies, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Setraco Nigeria Limited, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Access Bank plc, Zenith Bank plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Fidelity Bank plc, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc (STI), Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) and National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to name but a few.