We’re always ready to partner with you, Editors tell Julius Berger
L-R: MD, News Agency of Nigeria, Ali Muhammad Ali, Head, Corporate Communications, Dr. James
Agama and Director, Administration, Alh. Dr, Abdulaziz Isa Kaita, both of Julius Berger Nigeria
PLC at the company’s 2025 Abuja Media Parley event, weekend.
President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) and Editor of Vanguard Newspaper, Eze Anaba, has described Julius Berger Nigeria Plc as one of the few organisations in the country that has consistently enjoyed positive media coverage, attributing the feat to the company’s professionalism and its deliberate, strategic engagement with the press.
Anaba made this remark in Lagos at the weekend during Julius Berger Nigeria Plc’s annual dinner with senior media executives, held at the prestigious Sky Restaurant, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island. According to him, the company’s steady presence in the news for the right reasons has made it easy for journalists and editors to confidently tell the Julius Berger story.
Your robust and strategic interactions with the press is a professional beauty to align with. We are always ready to partner with your company, he said, noting that the construction giant remains a reference point for corporate transparency and responsible communication.
Representing the Managing Director, the company’s Director of Administration, Alhaji Dr Abdulaziz Isa Kaita, expressed Julius Berger’s appreciation to the media for their consistent support throughout the year. He emphasised that the partnership between the company and the media has significantly contributed to shared progress for both Nigeria and the organisation.
“In all, you have demonstrated that we are upping our partnership for the progress of the larger Nigerian community and our company,” Kaita said, while recounting Julius Berger’s long-standing tradition of delivering quality infrastructure across the country.
He called for even deeper collaboration as the company continues to champion innovation, engineering excellence and capacity development.
In Abuja, the 2025 Julius Berger Nigeria Plc Annual Media Parley continued with the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ali M. Ali, who delivered a keynote titled Public Relations and the Media: The Missing Link, underscoring the need for a symbiotic relationship between PR practitioners and the press.
Ali stated the need for a more deliberate and sustained relationship between public relations practitioners and journalists; one built on trust, mutual respect, and value creation. He noted that the rapidly evolving communications landscape requires strategic thinking, strong storytelling, and a deep understanding of audience behaviour.
He cautioned PR professionals against the common mistake of only engaging the media during crises, stressing that strong relationships built over time often determine how effectively an organisation manages challenging moments. Using Julius Berger as an example, he noted that the company’s crisis-management experience shows that established trust encourages journalists to actively seek the company’s perspective during controversies.
Ali also highlighted the fundamental difference between journalism and public relations: while journalists pursue truth, PR practitioners manage perception and reputation. He described perception as a powerful driver of public behaviour, often shaping opinion more strongly than reality itself.
According to him, the real missing link in PR practice is story framing. Well-crafted stories are more likely to be published than poorly written press statements, he said, insisting that compelling narratives remain the strongest bridge between PR and the media.
Ali praised Julius Berger’s PR lead, Emmanuel Isibor, describing him as a model practitioner who effectively blends newsroom experience with strategic communication expertise.
In his remarks, Dr. Kaita paid tribute to the media for their ongoing collaboration, adding that the relationship has played a significant role in sustaining public trust in the company. He revisited Julius Berger Nigeria’s contributions to national development since its establishment in 1965, including iconic projects such as the Eko Bridge, the Third Mainland Bridge, and the Abuja–Kano Expressway.
He also highlighted the company’s partnership with Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) on cold recycling technology, a groundbreaking innovation that earned international recognition from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The achievement, he said, reflects Julius Berger’s commitment not just to construction, but to research-driven engineering excellence.
Editors and senior journalists from ThisDay, BusinessDay, The Punch, Nairametrics, PressTV, Vanguard, and MoneyCentral as well as the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Daily Trust, The Guardian, Asset Tv and The Sun among others also attended the landmark events alongside the top media professionals who attended the events in Lagos and Abuja, further cementing the relationship between the construction industry leader and Nigeria’s media community.
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Group photograph of some media partners with officials of Julius Berger Nigeria PLC at the 2025
Abuja Media Parley organised by the company weekend.
L-R: Some top Editors at weekend’s 2025 Media Dinner organised by Julius Berger Nigeria
PLC at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. Extreme left is BusinessDay’s Lolade
Akinmurele. Next to him is Money Central’s Patrick Atuanya, ThisDay’s Shaka Momodu,
PUNCH’s Felix Odeleye, Director, Administration, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, Alh. Dr. Abdulaziz
Kaita, The Guardian’s Dr. Femi Adekoya and PressTv’s Olushola Akinyele in a group
photograph at the venue
L-R on the high table: Chairman, FCT Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists,
Comrade Grace Ike, Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria and Guest
Speaker, Ali Muhammad Ali, Director, Administration, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC,
Alh. Dr Abdulaziz Isa Kaita, President, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade
Yusuf Yahaya and Publisher, News Diary online, Danlami Nnmodu, mni at
the 2025 Abuja Media Parley organised by the construction company, weekend.
L-R: MD, News Agency of Nigeria, Ali Muhammad Ali, Head, Corporate Communications, Dr. James
Agama and Director, Administration, Alh. Dr, Abdulaziz Isa Kaita, both of Julius Berger Nigeria
PLC at the company’s 2025 Abuja Media Parley event, weekend.
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