New NiRA boss to improve registry, .ng as Oluka joins board

Standing from left: Ebenezer Dare; Editor, TechEconomy, Peter Oluka; Chief Operating Officer, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), Mrs. Eyitayo Iyortim; Destiny Amana and Mayowa Ajiboye. Sitting from left: Frank Ogochukwu; Immediate past Vice-President (VP), NiRA, Oluwatoba Obaniyi; Immediate past president, Muhammed Rudman, new president, Akinsanya Adesola and new VP, Murtala Abdullahi, at NiRA 15th yearly general meeting where new executives were elected in Lagos.

The newly elected president of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), Adesola Akinsanya, has promised to improve the fortunes of the registry, especially the slow attraction of Nigeria’s domain name, the .ng.

Akinsanya, who took over from the immediate past president, Mohammed Rudman, has Murtala Abdullahi as the new vice president. They were elected during NiRA’s 15th yearly general meeting held in Lagos.

Members also elected officials to fill vacant positions on the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the Executive Board of Directors (EBoD). Elected to NiRA BoT are Mrs. Mary Uduma; Yunusa Zakari Ya’u; Mrs. Ibukun Odusote; Remmy Nweke, and Biyi Oladipo, while Ebenezer Dare; Seun Kehinde; and Peter Oluka were elected as members of the EBoD.

In his acceptance speech, Akinsanya, expressed gratitude and immense appreciation to the members for electing him as president. “This is a call to greater service, and I promise to justify the confidence reposed in me,” he affirmed.

Akinsanya, a Director at Upperlink Limited, said he would employ winning formul. “People, processes, performance, and accountability, to continue repositioning NiRA for greater success,” he said.

According to him, focus would be on a few key areas such as improved Registry-Registrar relationship, stating his strong belief that “the relationship between the Registry and Registrar can be deepened thereby making it a win-win situation.”

He also promised to expand NiRA’s outreach with more engagements with local and international industry players.“As your president, I pledge to push for more of NiRA’s engagements within the local and international ecosystem and other industry partners. This is very important because it fosters the bond with such players thereby giving NiRA more exposure to the Internet communities.”

Commenting on his membership of the board, Oluka, who is the Editor of TechEconomy, said: “I am deeply committed to the massive adoption of .ng buttressed by the fact that I have been a .NG (Dot NG) domain name Brand Ambassador since 2015!

“Yes, I have leveraged different platforms and fora to publicize the Nigerian Domain Name (DNS) Industry, amongst other accomplishments, training, awards and certifications.

“I strongly believe there is a need for the injection of fresh ideas to further expand our identity in cyberspace, and I am grateful for this opportunity to serve.”

Oluka is among the pioneer Fellows of the MTN Nigeria Media Innovation Programme (MTN MIP-1) curated by the School of Media and Communications (SMC) Pan Atlantic University (PAU).