President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has renewed the tenures of the Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Abdulhamid Salihu Dembos, and the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ali Mohammed Ali, for another three years.
The President first appointed Dembos and Ali to lead the NTA and NAN respectively on October 20, 2023, according to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy. Their renewed tenure will commence on October 20, 2026.
The extension means both media executives will continue to lead the government-owned broadcast and news agencies for another three years.
Dembos, who is from Yola, Adamawa State, is a veteran broadcasting professional and former National President of the Radio, Television, Theatre and Art Workers Union (RATTAWU).
He joined the NTA as an announcer at its Kaduna station after completing his National Youth Service in 1989 and subsequently rose through several positions within the organisation.
He served as General Manager of NTA Lokoja and NTA Kano at different times before becoming Acting Zonal Director of the NTA Kaduna Network Centre. He retired from the service in 2017 and previously served as Executive Director of Marketing at the NTA.
Ali, the NAN Managing Director, is a veteran journalist and media manager with more than three decades of experience in the Nigerian media industry.
He holds a first degree in English from Bayero University, Kano, a graduate degree in International Affairs from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication from Bayero University, Kano.
His professional interests include media development, digital transformation and content creation aimed at serving an increasingly diverse audience through multiple news platforms.
In renewing their appointments, President Tinubu urged both chief executives to justify the confidence placed in them by sustaining their commitment to the mandates of their respective organisations.
The President also tasked them with continuing to support the promotion of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Dembos and Ali will therefore remain at the helm of the NTA and NAN as both organisations continue to navigate changes in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving media landscape, including digital broadcasting, online news consumption and changing audience expectations.
