Nkwocha bags Environmental Sustainability Award

Emmanuel Nlewedum, Port Harcourt

Dr Jossy Nkwocha, Head of Corporate Communications at Indorama-Nigeria, owners of Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals and Fertiliser group, has won the maiden Distinguished Spokesperson’s Award in Environmental Sustainability.

Dr. Nkwocha clinched the Award after defeating three finalists from other organizations in Nigeria, and emerged finalist in Oil and Gas category.

The Award ceremony marked the end of a 3-day National Spokespersons’ Summit organized by the Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

The event attracted various resource persons from abroad and Nigeria, all of whom were former spokespersons in the public and private sectors who shared their practical experiences and perspectives in the art and science of being a spokesperson especially in crisis communication, stakeholder engagement, among others.

President of NIPR, Dr Ike Neliaku while speaking on the award said the 17 Awards categories were instituted to encourage Spokespersons in government and corporate organizations to be professional, responsive, ethical and creative in their spokesperson’s roles and responsibilities to achieve impactful results.

“This healthy competition will produce impactful results” he said.

Dr Nkwocha’s entry for the Award was how he and his team deployed the tool of stakeholder engagement to eliminate the false narrative that Indorama-Nigeria’s Petrochemicals and Fertilizer operations were emitting soot in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The professional handling of the issue showed all the journalists, radio on-air personalities, the academics, professional bodies and concerned NGOs that Indorama’s operations were green and the company is environmentally friendly and environmentally sustainable.

Dr Jossy Nkwocha dedicated the prestigious award to his team members and Management of the Petrochemicals and Fertilizer group.