Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has appointed popular female sports caster and award winning journalist, Modele Sarafa-Yusuf, as his Special Adviser on Information.
The announcement was made on Tuesday in a statement issued by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Kunle Somorin.
Other appointments announced by the governor are Chief Economic Adviser, Dapo Okubadejo; Senior Special Adviser on Political Affairs, Tunji Egbetokun; Special Adviser, Government House, Babatunde Olaotan; Special Adviser on Job Creation and Youth Empowerment, Mr Lekan Olude; Special Adviser on Housing, Jamiu Akande Omoniyi, and Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Emmanuel Ojo.
The new Special Adviser on Information, Modele Sarafa-Yusuf, is an award-winning media practitioner with a cumulative 32 years of experience in journalism and Marketing Communications.
She has varied experience contributing to, and leading, corporate marketing and internal communications.
Sarafa-Yusuf is a respected leader of sponsorships and public relations departments and a Concept developer and coordinator of marketing campaigns which effectively reinforce and build brand image.
The first woman sportscaster in Africa, and a 1996 Nigerian Media Merit Award winner, she has been described as one of the best sportscasters that Nigeria ever produced.
In 16 years of journalism with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Modele was not only a sports broadcaster, she was also a columnist for magazines, a guest writer for newspapers, a script writer for television shows and a producer of documentaries and programmes for radio and television: in fields as diverse as business, culinary, current affairs, crime, and education.
Between 2007 and 2011, she was Globacom’s Head of Sponsorships (West Africa), at which time she led a team of very talented people on projects such as the Glo CAF Awards, The Lagos International Half Marathon, The Glo Premier League in Nigeria and Ghana, and the first-in-Africa relationship with Manchester United FC among others.
Before then, she was Marketing Communications /Sponsorship Manager with Globacom at the inception of the company in 2003.
Between 2012 and 2013, Modele was Director of Marketing at the prestigious American University of Nigeria, and upon retirement, she returned to her first love: the world of journalism.
She currently produces and anchors arguably Nigeria’s highest rated TV personality interview program: “View From the Top”.
She also works as an Independent Communications Consultant for several organisations.
Modele has a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Ife and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Lagos.
