Celebration as Femi Adesina becomes The Sun's Managing Director

Femi Adesina

The Sun,  Nigeria’s leading tabloid has effected a change in  its management. This was announced in a statement published this morning in the paper.

According to them: The Board of Directors of The Sun Publishing Limited has approved new appointments and promotions to further reinforce the position of the newspaper as the market leader, and the number one choice of readers and advertisers.

At its end-of-year meeting held in Lagos yesterday, erstwhile Deputy Managing Director/Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the company, Mr. Femi Adesina, was elevated to the position of the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief.  The appointment takes immediate effect.

Adesina succeeds Mr. Tony Onyima, who retired yesterday after  completing a 12-year stretch in executive management position, first as Executive Director (Operations) for eight years, and then as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief for four years. Onyima remains on the board in non-executive capacity.

Also appointed are Mrs. Ethel Nmezi, Deputy Managing Director, and Mr. Eric Osagie, Executive Director, Publications.

Mr. Shola Oshunkeye, till now, a General Editor, moves to Ghana as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun, Ghana, billed to take off soon.

Other new appointments include Mr. Damola Lajumoke, General Manager, Sales and Operations, Mr. Obioma Ogukwe, General Manager, Finance, Mrs. Neta Nwosu, General Manager, Corporate Services, and Mrs. Ogechi Uche, General Manager, Human Resource.

Paying tribute to the outgoing MD/EIC, Chairman of the board, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, said Onyima had contributed immensely to the growth of the company, right from inception in 2002.  He wished him greater successes ahead, and urged him to further make available his wealth of experience as a member of the board.

Adesina, who is also current president, Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), joined The Sun Publishing Limited at inception in 2002 as Associate Editor, and became the pioneer editor of the daily newspaper in June, 2003.  He held the position for five years, winning several laurels, including Editor of the Year in 2006, given by the Nigerian Media Merit Award (NMMA).

In 2008, he became the Executive Director (Publications) and Deputy Managing Director/Deputy Editor-in-Chief in 2010.

Mrs. Nmezi, former Executive Director, Finance and Administration, becomes the Deputy Managing Director. She joined The Sun in 2003 as Chief Accountant.  In 2008, she was promoted Finance Controller, and became Executive Director, Finance and Administration in 2010.  She is a chartered accountant.

Mr. Eric Osagie joined The Sun in 2002 as Editor (Abuja) and later got promoted as Editor, Northern Operations.

In 2008, he was appointed Special Adviser, Public Affairs and Strategy, to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, and returned to The Sun the following year as Managing Editor. In 2010, he became Executive Director, Special Services.

Osagie has had rich editorial background at Concord Press, ThisDay, and National Interest.

Mr. Oshunkeye, General Editor, has worked at Concord Press, where he rose to be editor, Weekend Concord, Tell magazine as Senior Associate Editor, and he joined The Sun in 2005.  He was CNN African Journalist of the Year 2006. He also won Nigerian Media Merit Award Newspaper Reporter of the Year in 1996. He is an alumnus of the US State Department’s International Visitors Leadership Programme, 2006. He proceeds to Ghana as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Publishing (Ghana) Limited.

Mr. ‘Lajumoke is a graduate of Business Administration from the University of Lagos. He joined The Sun as Circulation Manager in 2002. He is an Associate member of Nigerian Institute of Management.

Mr. Ogukwe is a graduate of Accountancy from the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu. He joined The Sun Publishing Limited in 2005 as Accountant, with over 15 years work experience. He is an Associate of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

Mrs. Nwosu has B.Sc in Zoology with over 20 years experience in Media and Advertising. She joined The Sun Publishing Limited in 2002 as the pioneer Business Development Manager, and was later moved to Corporate Services as Assistant General Manager. She is a member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).

Mrs. Uche, the new GM, Human Resource, joined The Sun Publishing Limited in 2003 as Assistant Manager, Human Resource, from where she rose to the position of Human Resource Manager in 2008. She has a B.Sc in Political Science and MBA in Management from the University of Nigeria, Nzukka.

She is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management and a member of Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered).