11th March, 2024
By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has appointed, Nelson Chukwudi, a former Chairman, Editorial Board and Editor-in-chief of Rivers State State owned Tide Newspaper as his new Chief Press Secretary with immediate effect.
The appointment was announced in a press statement issued on Sunday, signed by Boniface Onyedi, the SSA to the Rivers State Governor.
“This is to bring to the notice of Rivers people and the general public that His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, Governor of Rivers State, has approved the appointment of Mr. Nelson Chukwudi as the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor with immediate effect,” the statement indicated.
Nelson Chukwudi holds Diploma (Mass Comm); BSc (Public Admin); and Post-Graduate Diploma (Journalism). He began Journalism practice over 33 years ago at The Tide Newspapers in Port Harcourt, Rivers.
He has held various Editorial positions: Reporter; Investigative & Crime; Oil & Energy Correspondent, Editor Production, Online, Special Projects, Op-Ed & Features, and Deputy Editor. He became Editor in 2010, Director/Managing Editor 2014, member of Editorial Board 2000. He became Chairman, Editorial Board and Editor-in-Chief 2020.
As Reporter, Correspondent and Editor, Nelson has written hundreds of published News stories, Opinions, Special Reports and Feature Articles on various issues, focusing especially on Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region. He was the first Nigerian investigative journalist to visit Nembe in Bayelsa State during the 1996 Ogbolomabiri/Bassambiri war, interviewed the combatants and filed reports direct from the scene of conflict. Many scholars, researches, organisations and institutions have referenced his writings.
Nelson has participated in more than 170 local and foreign professional training programmes across four continents. He won 7 Best Reporter/Writer awards in The Tide and Rivers State in Sustainable Community Development, Investigative, Environmental, and Oil & Energy Reporting -1997 and 2004.
He became Nigerian Guild of Editors member in 2015 and has been member Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) since 1990, serving in various executive leadership positions. He is a US State Department Alumnus, Reuters Alumnus, and belongs to many national, African and international journalism organisations. He is a leading influencer in journalism in Niger Delta, and helps facilitate training programs and partnerships that enable capacity building for journalists in Nigeria.