How ABS Staff, Ify Unachukwu Made Anambra Proud With D.A.M.E Prize, Obiano To Reward Her

Last Sunday, a staff of the Anambra Broadcasting service, Mrs Ify Unachukwu shone like a million star in far away Lagos, where she was announced winner of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence(DAME Prize) in the documentary category, and was trailed from behind by TVC and AIT.

Though Mrs Unachukwu was presented a plaque and a paltry N100,000, to many, her winning the award is worth more than that as this year’s award was very keenly contested. The ward is coming at a time when the image of the ABS has been dragged on the mud by the involvement of its former beauty queen in a sex scandal.

But Unachukwu’s victrory in Lagos last sunday, the only journa;list in the entire southeast that won an award at the ceremony, also showed the class ABS is made of. A source told www.elekenews.com that the governor, Chief Willie Obiano may have concluded plans to further rewards Ify for her hard work, especially as one of the videos submited for the award was on the governor’s 60th birthday.

Another journal;ist who did not want his name mentioned said that it was only important that the governor rewarded Unachukwu, as she did not win the award for herself alone, but for the state, and most especially for the governor, who was creduted for improving the state owned broadcast station to the level that made it posible for Ify to practice professionally, and also facilitate the wining of the award.

The journalist said it is not only footballers and athletes that go out and win trophies and are compensated, he insisted that scholarly jobs like what Ify did should also be hailed. “It will not even be a bad idea to organised a reception, maybe a small one for Ify, and then reward her adequately, as the N100,000 she was given by the organisers may not even be enough to take care of her hotel bills in Lagos and her transportation back to Awka,” the journalist who declined to have his name in print said.

Below is the full story of Mrs Unachukwu’s award.

Mrs. Ify Unachukwu, a broadcaster with Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) on Sunday, 4th December, 2016 won the prestigious Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (D.A.M.E Prize) in the Best TV Documentary category for her documentary – Women in Anambra Politics. Her other work submitted for consideration was ‘Governor Willie Obiano at 60’.
For her success in the Best TV Documentary category, sponsored by the broadcast industry regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mrs. Unachukwu was rewarded with a plaque, certificate and One Hundred Thousand Naira cash prize.
The 2016 D.A.M.E Prize was keenly contested. The organisers received 485 entries in the 30 categories out of which only 20 categories were considered for evaluation by the organisers. TV Continental (TVC) took the 2nd prize while Africa Independent Television (AIT) took the 3rd prize in the Best TV Documentary category won by ABS.
In her thank you speech at the awards ceremony which held in Lagos, Mrs. Unachukwu dedicated the award to God, her family, the ABS production team and also to the MD/CEO of Anambra Broadcasting Service, Nze Uche Nworah, whom she described as the hardest working CEO in the world for inspiring and challenging the staff to excel at all times. She also thanked the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, for his ongoing support and intervention at ABS without which the organisation would not have gotten to the level where it is now as one of the most vibrant state owned broadcasting organisations in Nigeria. She said the award will spur her on to work harder to make ABS proud.
In his reaction, the Managing Director and CEO of the Anambra Broadcasting Service, Nze Uche Nworah, said he was proud of Mrs. Unachukwu’s achievements and praised her for making ABS and Anambra State proud. “The D.A.M.E Prize won by Mrs. Ify Unachukwu is an honour for the whole Anambra State, especially when you consider that the award was dominated by a Lagos-based media organisation. She is the only person from the entire South East to win. I am overjoyed because this shows that our efforts in the last couple of years have not been in vain. I thank His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano, the Governor of Anambra State for all the support towards making ABS the pride of Ndi Anambra”, Nworah concluded.