The Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, has bagged the Golden World Award (GWA) of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) in the Crisis Management Category.

The IPRA honours the frontline multi-award-winning integrated communication agency for its publication "101 Fake News on EndSARS" authored by a staff member and 2021 Best Fact-Checker in West Africa, Dahiru Lawal.

The book was published in a collaboration with the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), the Secretariat of the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA)

The book, which exposes a series of Fake News, especially on social media during and after the 2020 EndSARS protests in Nigeria, had previously won African SABRE Award 2022 hosted by PRovoke Media and endorsed by the African Public Relations Association (APRA) at Dar Es Salam, Tanzania.

In a congratulatory message addressed to Chief Executive Officer of IMPR, Mallam Yushau Shuaib, the IPRA Secretariat wrote: "I am pleased to announce that you are an IPRA GWA 2022 winner! Congratulations.

"You win with Unveiling 101 Fake News on EndSARS in the Crisis management - Agency category."

Meanwhile, the IPRA Secretariat regretted that it would not hold the Award ceremony billed for Japan in October due to what it described as "ongoing problems around the world."

From 2016 to date, IMPR has remained one of the most formidable indigenous African PR firms, winning Public Relations awards at continental and global levels.

Apart from being shortlisted as one of the five finalists for the African Public Relations Agency of the Year, it was ranked number one and identified as the most creative PR agency worldwide in the 2020 Global Creativity Index (GCI).

The yearly GCI, produced by PRovoke, formerly Holmes Report, ranks the most awarded PR campaigns and firms in the world, weighing their impacts while taking cognisance of their staff size.

Speaking on the latest award, Shuaib commended the efforts of young and vibrant staff members in the firm for providing news and feature ideas for strategic communication.

"At IMPR, apart from our experienced editors and consummate communicators, we have young and vibrant, fresh graduates who are providing creative and workable ideas for our diverse clients.

"The results of their pitches can be glimpsed from our fact-checks, investigative reporting, crisis communication, event management and public relations.”

Also speaking on the award, the Executive Secretary CCC, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (rtd), commended IMPR for making Nigeria proud on the global scene on crisis communication strategies.

"We are indeed proud of our partnership with the IMPR family, especially PRNigeria on its roles in crisis management in the country. Apart from CCC jointly winning a previous GWA award, other stakeholders include ONSA, DHQ, Nigerian Airforce, Nigeria Customs, Nigeria Prison Service, DSS, NCC, NDLEA, and NITDA among others have also bagged similar awards with IMPR in the past. We are indeed grateful for making Nigeria proud," Yusuf Anas said. (PRNigeria)

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