IT expert, Adedoyin Odunfa, will on Saturday, March 2, 2024, deliver the keynote speech at the PUNCH Newspapers 50th Anniversary Black Tie Dinner at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Founded in March 1973, PUNCH, Nigeria’s foremost newspaper, clocked 50 on March 18 last year, but its board of directors moved the 50th-anniversary celebration to this year because the anniversary month fell within an election month and year.

The black-tie dinner, which is part of the anniversary’s weeklong activities, will acknowledge the contributions of key stakeholders and a wide array of media industry leaders to the organisation’s success.

Odunfa is expected to add some intellectual depth to the entertainment of the evening.

She will speak on “PUNCH: Fit for the future.”

Odunfa has over 30 years professional experience in enhancing the strategic value of IT in organizations through value-adding interventions across the information value chain.

With notable credentials to her name, she has also led industry initiatives to strengthen and enhance IT Governance, Risk and Compliance processes.

Her company, Digital Jewels Limited,  the only prrofessional services firm in Africa to be certified to ISO27001:2013 and ISO9001:2015 currently has a footprint across nine African countries with an enviable delivery track record.

Adedoyin has been listed among the top 100 Most Inspirational Women in Nigeria (2021); Top 50 Women in Cybersecurity in Africa (2020 and 20 FINTECH Women in Nigeria (2019).

Earlier in the anniversary celebration, a colourful novelty football match was held last Saturday at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos.

On Wednesday, a three-day photo exhibition, showcasing 50 iconic photographs from PUNCH rich archive, opened at the Alliance Francaise de Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The gathering of intellectuals and lovers of arts was led by a former Commissioner for Tourism, Arts, and Culture in Lagos State, Steve Ayorinde, who was the curator of the exhibition.

The highlight of the ceremonies was the anniversary’s public lecture on Thursday delivered by Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka.

Soyinka described previous national conferences organised to address the challenges facing Nigeria as exercises held to pacify aggrieved Nigerians