The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has approved the appointment of Mr. Adedayo Eriye Oketola as his Chief Press Secretary (CPS).
The appointment was officially conveyed in a letter signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Rose Oriaran-Anthony, dated Friday, October 24, 2025.
A multi-award-winning journalist with nearly two decades of professional experience, Mr. Oketola is widely respected for his incisive reporting, editorial leadership, and commitment to journalistic excellence. He previously served as Editor of The Punch Newspaper, where he distinguished himself as a transformative newsroom leader.
His appointment comes at a crucial time when effective communication and strategic media engagement are essential to advancing INEC’s mandate of ensuring free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria.
In her letter, Mrs. Oriaran-Anthony congratulated Mr. Oketola on his appointment and urged him to discharge his duties with professionalism, integrity, and transparency — values for which the Commission is known.
Oketola is a seasoned journalist, author, and strategic communications expert with over two decades of high-impact experience in journalism, media innovation, and editorial management.
He served as Editor of The Punch, Nigeria’s most widely read and influential newspaper, from 2022 to 2024, leading it to consecutive “Newspaper of the Year” awards and earning the prestigious “Editor of the Year” honour at the Nigeria Media Merit Awards (NMMA) in 2023 and the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) in 2024.
Prior to that, he made history as the first editor in The Punch’s 50-year existence to simultaneously oversee both Saturday Punch and Sunday Punch as Editor of the Weekend Titles. He had also served in several key editorial roles, including Group Business Editor, News Editor, and News & Politics Editor.
Over the course of his career, Oketola’s exemplary work across diverse beats — including ICT, Energy, Labour, Business, and Politics — has earned him more than 15 prestigious national and international awards, fellowships, and recognitions.
He holds a B.A. (English Literature) from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (2004), and an M.A. (English Literature) from the University of Ibadan (2007). He also possesses a Certificate in Investigative Reporting from the New England Centre for Investigative Reporting at Boston University, Massachusetts, USA (2012); an LL.B from the National Open University of Nigeria (2017); and a Diploma in Public Relations from the Business Education Examination Council (2021).
A versatile professional, Oketola is an Associate of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), the Nigerian Guild of Editors, and Lions Clubs International, District 404B2 Nigeria.
He is an Edward R. Murrow Fellow under the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and currently serves as President of the IVLP Alumni Association in Nigeria.
His debut book, The Catalyst: Nigerian Tech Evolution Through a Journalist’s Lens, was presented to the public in 2024. In the same year, he hosted Nigeria’s first-ever “Exaugural Lecture” by a newspaper editor to commemorate his transition from editorship and two decades of service to journalism.
