By Henry Obetta
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Lagos Directorate, in collaboration with Alpha Designs Nigeria Ltd., on Saturday organised its maiden fitness walk for staff as part of efforts to promote healthy living, physical fitness and improved workplace productivity.
The programme, which brought together members of staff and other participants, featured a walk from the Teslim Balogun Stadium to the NAN Lagos office, alongside physical exercises and other wellness activities.
Speaking at the event, Managing Director of NAN, Malam Ali Mohammed Ali, said the initiative was designed to encourage staff to pay greater attention to their physical wellbeing, stressing that a healthy workforce was essential to effective service delivery.
Ali said wellness and fitness had become an integral part of NAN’s workplace culture, noting that the agency had institutionalised quarterly fitness activities across its directorates.
“Under our watch at NAN, wellness and fitness have become more than a slogan. It has become a quarterly tradition that we are proud to institutionalise across all our directorates.
“Beyond these quarterly walks and jogs, we have also taken concrete steps to promote wellness in the workplace.
“That is why, to protect and promote wellness at the agency, we have, in Abuja, twice every week, specifically on Tuesdays and Fridays, reduced the official work hours by one hour to enable staff to make use of our well-equipped gym at the Abuja headquarters.
“This deliberate policy is to ensure that fitness becomes part of our daily culture, not just an occasional event,” he said.
The NAN helmsman urged staff members to embrace physical fitness as a lifestyle rather than a quarterly activity, stressing that a sound mind and healthy body were essential to improved work performance and productivity.
Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Head of Operations, NAN Lagos, Kevin Okunzuwa, who also served as Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the fitness walk, said the programme provided an opportunity for media practitioners to prioritise their health, refresh physically and mentally, and strengthen bonds among colleagues.
“The bottom line is that we should always endeavour to take care of ourselves. Our health matters a lot.
“For whoever goes beyond this world, the job will always remain there for someone to take over,” he said.
Also speaking, Business Development Personnel at Alpha Designs Nigeria Ltd., Onyeagbo Ugochi, said promoting healthy living remained a core objective of the organisation.
Ugochi highlighted Alpha Designs’ newly launched wellness platform, Genesis New Vision App, designed to promote healthy living practices among members of the public, and urged Nigerians to download and use the application.
She said the organisation’s sustained collaboration with NAN was aimed at encouraging Nigerians to become more intentional about their health as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative.
Ugochi added that Alpha Designs remained open to collaborating with other organisations whose vision aligned with its commitment to promoting healthy living and wellness.
Head of Lagos Operations, NAN, Ifeyinwa Omowole, also underscored the importance of taking responsibility for personal health, stressing that wellness was important not only for journalists but for everyone.
“When you are healthy, you are fit to do your work, and we all know that journalism is a tasking work.
“So, for you to be good at what you do, it is not just your brains; it is also your fitness,” she said.
Omowole said the health talks delivered during the programme had further sensitised staff on practical ways to maintain fitness while working in the office.
The event also featured health talks, raffle draws and cash rewards for participants.
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