The International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria has promised to endow a prize at the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) in honour of its late Treasurer, Rafat Idris Salami.
In a statement on Friday, IPI Nigeria said that the prize will be to instil in students of the institution the values that Rafat Idris Salami stood for.
IPI Nigeria President, Mr. Musikilu Mojeed confirmed the decision during the opening ceremony of the 2025 IPI Nigeria Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM) last Tuesday.
Salami, the then Assistant Director of Digital Media at the Voice of Nigeria (VON), died on 20 December 2024, just days after the first annual conference and AGM of IPI Nigeria, where she participated actively despite being ill.
Welcoming members and other guests, including Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, to the second annual conference and AGM, Mojeed requested them to observe a one-minute silence in Salami’s honour.
He said: ‘Last year, even in severe pain and confined to a wheelchair, she insisted on attending the conference.
‘She greeted guests, co-ordinated logistics, took photographs with her phone and served with grace until her body could no longer carry her.
‘Her commitment was a reminder that journalism is not merely a job; it is a calling. It demands sacrifice; It demands conviction.
‘To honour her legacy, the National Committee of IPI Nigeria will endow a prize in her name at the University of Abuja, which was her alma-mater.
‘We will work with the university to ensure that every year, young Journalists are inspired by the values Rafat lived by integrity, courage, and selfless service’.
When she died last year, Salami was eulogised by the IPI; the Federal Capital Territory council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, where she had served as Secretary; her employer, VON; and colleagues.
Salami began her career with VON as a News Editor and correspondent in Lagos.
She rose through the ranks to become VON’s Assistant Director in charge of Digital Media before her demise.
