Despite COVID-19, we’ll have a transition this year, says NINM

The National Institute of Marketing Nigeria (NIMN) says it will have a transition election in the new year to elect a new president.

In a New Year message, Tony Agenmonmen, its president, urged Nigerians and marketing professionals in the country to look up to 2021 with confidence, courage and faith in God.

He also said with the second wave of COVID-19, 2021 will remain challenging.

The president encouraged all members of the institute to ensure they meet all the requirements so that they can actively take part in the elections.

He said despite the challenges of the institute, it is proactive and early in adapting to the challenges created by the pandemic.

“There has been no year like 2020, the year of COVID-19 pandemic. It has affected lives and livelihood all over the world,” he said.

“It has redefined in ways never imagined, how we relate and run our lives and businesses. We therefore have  every reason to be grateful to God for surviving the crisis in 2020 and leading us to a New Year 2021.

According to him, within the overall constraints, the institute was able to conduct almost all its programmes virtually with good results, including the transparent council elections.

“In the outgoing year, we were also able to enact and publish the Code of  Professional Marketing Practice that guides the ethical and professional conduct of marketing professionals in Nigeria,” he said.

“Regardless of the challenges, we kept our staff strength and paid their salaries in full as and when due. We also have  finally liquidated the long outstanding debts in salaries and gratuities to ex-staff that retired many years ago.

The only  major big-ticket debt remaining is the unremitted pensions which will be the focus of 2021. We continue to appeal to  those affected to appreciate that the Council is working hard to put all debt issues of the Institute behind us.”

NIMN is the umbrella body of all marketing professionals in Nigeria