Guild of Professional Bloggers Gets CAC Registration, Sets up C'mittees
The drive to formally have a professional body to regulate, moderate and promote social media ethics among Nigerian Bloggers has received the final approval of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) with the registration of Guild of Professional Bloggers Of Nigeria (GPBN).
The news of the formal registration of GPBN was broken Wednesday morning in a statement signed by the Acting Publicity Secretary of the body, Miss Helen Ozor in Lagos.
According to Ozor, the news of the registration, a process which took quite some time to complete, has been received with so much applause and excitement from industry and media stakeholders across the country since it was made public.
The Publicity Secretary noted that with the registration and recognition of the Guild, “This has finally legitimized the Association as the authentic body to regulate the practice of blogging in Nigeria”.
The President of the Guild, Chris Kehinde Nwandu (CKN) also welcomed the development and observed, “It is all part of the way forward to ensure blogging is taken as a serious business and as such must be accorded due respect and ethics”.
As part of the activities to ensure the Guild becomes effective and efficient, it has set up various committees to mobilize more members to join the group.
A membership drive committee headed by versatile blogger Laila Ijeoma (Lailasblog) has been set up for this purpose.
In the same vein, an Ethics Committee that will oversee the activities of members on ethical behaviours and standards has also been set up. The Committee is headed by Mr Adrian Egonu (NaijaCarLovers Blog ).
The Interim Executive Members of the Association include Chris Kehinde Nwandu (CKN News), President, Femi Adeoya (Skytrend News) Secretary, Helen Ozor (Helen Blog), Head, Media and Publicity, Mrs Nelly Agwu (Indepth News), Treasurer.
Nwandu further stated that the aim of the group is primarily, to set up a standard for the practice of Blogging in Nigeria as well as formulate policies aimed at engaging major stakeholders, Government functionaries, and the general public.
He added that the association will also see to the fact that the practice of blogging is not abused or used as an avenue to blackmail or settle scores among individuals and stakeholders, adding that in the months ahead, the activities of the Association will be made public.
For a start, a logo has been approved by the Guild and all members have been mandates to conspicuously place the logo on their website to distinguish them from other players in the industry.
A formal launch and public introduction of the Guild is already in the offing.
Meanwhile the Association has released the following numbers for easy access to the group.
National Secretariat: 08033857245
Ethics Committee: 08096433707
Membership: 08080810909
President: 09055513813