President Bola Tinubu has approved an additional three-year term respectively for the heads of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abdulhamid Salihu Dembos and Ali Mohammed Ali. In a statement issued during the weekend by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the reappointments reflect the administration’s confidence in the leadership of both media organisations. The President urged the two chief executives to justify the confidence reposed in them by sustaining their commitment to the mandates of their respective organisations and supporting the implementation of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The new terms take effect from October 20, 2026, following the expiration of their first tenure, which began on the same date in 2023.
Dembos, an indigene of Yola in Adamawa State, is a seasoned broadcaster and former National President of the Radio, Television, Theatre and Art Workers Union (RATTAWU). Before his appointment as NTA Director-General, he served as Executive Director of Marketing at the authority following his retirement from active service in 2017. He began his career with the NTA in 1989 as an announcer at the Kaduna station, after completing the National Youth Service Corps programme, and rose through the ranks to serve as General Manager of NTA Lokoja and NTA Kano before retiring as Acting Zonal Director of the NTA Kaduna Network Centre.
Ali, who will continue as Managing Director of NAN, is an accomplished journalist and media administrator with more than three decades of professional experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Bayero University, Kano, a graduate degree in International Affairs from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication from Bayero University. He has demonstrated a strong interest in media innovation, digital journalism and content development throughout his career.
The President expressed confidence that both chief executives would continue to strengthen their organisations, promote professionalism in public broadcasting and news dissemination, and support the government’s communication objectives during their renewed tenure.
