About WABMA

Professional Profile

Felix Okoro is a publisher, public communications expert, policy consultant and facilitator with over three decades of professional experience spanning media, publishing, data management, strategic communication and consultancy services across the public and private sectors.

Professional and Consulting Career

Over the course of his career, Okoro has held senior professional positions and served as a consultant to several organisations, providing expertise in capacity building, communication strategy, media strengthening, mentoring, publishing, research, data sourcing and management. His engagements include work involving the ECOWAS Headquarters, where he participated in the publication of its first mailing list for distribution of the organisation's Statistical Bulletin across the subregion; the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, where he has served as a resource person; Avocats Sans Frontieres; and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, where he served as Lead Consultant for the publication of the quarterly Industry, Trade & Investment News.

Publishing and Corporate Leadership

His professional journey began as an Administrative Officer with Rivers State Television, Port Harcourt, after which he joined Emesi Creation Limited, an advertising and public relations firm. He subsequently joined Abuja Yellow Pages Nigeria Limited, publishers of a major Federal Capital Territory business and government directory, where he rose to Executive Editor.

In 2010, he was appointed Managing Editor and Chief Executive Officer of Yell Publishers Nigeria Limited, publishers of Nigeria Yellow Pages. During his tenure, he negotiated an agreement through which Google appointed Nigeria Yellow Pages as a content provider for Google Maps, marking an important move from traditional directory publishing into digital business information services.

Project Management and Public Affairs

Okoro has extensive experience in information and data sourcing, research and analysis, strategic communication, publishing and the delivery of complex projects. He is also a writer and public affairs commentator whose articles have appeared in national newspapers and digital platforms. He regularly contributes radio analysis on public policy, the economy, politics, governance, development and international affairs.

WABMA Academic Leadership

In 2024, Okoro was appointed to WABMA's academic leadership and currently serves as Dean of Academics. In this role, he contributes to academic planning, programme quality, faculty coordination and the mentoring and training of emerging broadcast, media and communication professionals.

Education and Professional Development

Okoro holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Political Science from the University of Nigeria. He has undertaken professional training in media, development communication, economics, organisational growth and corporate governance through organisations including the WABMA Media Foundation, British Council Management Express, Ford Foundation and the Institute of Corporate Administration. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administration.

Areas of Expertise

Publishing | Strategic Communication | Public Affairs | Policy Analysis | Research and Data Management | Project Management | Media Development | Business Information Services | Professional Training

Professional Profile

Ilemi Okoka is a veteran Nigerian broadcaster, network news anchor, media consultant and broadcast presentation trainer with more than 35 years of professional experience.

For decades, she was one of the familiar voices of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Radio Nigeria, working across Enugu, Lagos and Abuja and becoming particularly associated with national network news presentation. She rose through the organisation to the rank of Deputy Director of Programmes before retiring from Radio Nigeria in 2011.

At WABMA, Okoka serves as a Director and senior faculty member, bringing extensive professional broadcasting experience into the classroom and helping train a new generation of broadcasters, presenters and communication professionals.

Broadcasting Career

Okoka's interest in broadcasting began early. As a young person in Ibadan, she participated in the Junior TV Club, where involvement in script presentation helped develop an interest that would eventually become a lifelong broadcasting career.

She subsequently built much of that career at Radio Nigeria, serving at different stages in Enugu, Lagos and Abuja.

As a network broadcaster, her voice became familiar to listeners across Nigeria through national news and programmes. She eventually rose to senior programme management as Deputy Director of Programmes, combining presentation experience with responsibility for broadcast content and professional standards.

She retired from Radio Nigeria in 2011 after decades of service.

Broadcast Management and Consulting

Retirement from Radio Nigeria did not end Okoka's involvement in broadcasting.

In 2012, she moved to Benin City to help pioneer Vibes 97.3 FM, serving as General Manager during the station's formative period. She subsequently worked with Armed Forces Radio 107.7 FM, Abuja.

She has also worked as a media consultant and serves as a Director of Dream Africa Media Konsult.

These roles broadened her experience beyond public broadcasting into private radio, station management, consulting and professional development.

WABMA Leadership and Training

As a Director of WABMA, Okoka contributes both to the Academy's leadership and its professional training programmes.

She is particularly associated with broadcast presentation, voice training, pronunciation, diction, elocution, public speaking and script presentation.

Her teaching draws directly from decades spent behind the microphone and within professional broadcasting. This gives students the opportunity to learn not only the principles of presentation but also the practical disciplines required for professional performance before a microphone, camera or live audience.

She has taught both WABMA's regular professional students and participants in specialised corporate programmes, including voice training and pronunciation sessions delivered for media and communication professionals.

Training Philosophy and Professional Contribution

Okoka's contribution to WABMA represents an important part of the Academy's teaching model: experienced professionals passing accumulated industry knowledge to the next generation.

Her areas of instruction address some of the most fundamental skills in broadcasting: clarity of speech, pronunciation, vocal control, effective use of language, confidence, microphone technique, interpretation of scripts and natural presentation.

Her long experience as a network broadcaster also allows her to teach the less visible disciplines behind effective presentation, including preparation, accuracy, composure, timing and respect for the audience.

Professional Legacy

Across more than three decades, Okoka has worked as a broadcaster, network news anchor, programme executive, station manager, consultant and trainer.

Her career connects an earlier generation of Nigerian public broadcasting with today's multi platform media environment. At WABMA, that experience now serves an educational purpose, helping emerging broadcasters develop the professional discipline, vocal competence and presentation skills required for contemporary media.