the director general
Meet the charismatic champion of the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority. -->
Dr. Olayiwola Awakan
Director General, NTDA
Dr. Olayiwola Awakan - Director General, NTDA
Dr. Olayiwola Awakan, is a multiple award-winning broadcast journalist, dramatist, poet, and storyteller whose works cut across media, tourism and theatre. He was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) as the Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA), effective September 2, 2025, for an initial term of four years.
Before his appointment, he was honoured with the Custodian of Culture Award by LEAD City University. As a broadcast journalist with TVC News, he won the 2022 Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA) for TV Production of the Year and received an Honourable Mention at the 2023 Diamond Awards for Media Excellence. In 2021, he was named among the recipients of the Royal African Awards by His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi. Dr. Awakan was also a two-time winner of the Trek Africa TV Reporter of the Year Award (2019, 2020), alongside several other recognitions for his impactful special reports and documentaries.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communication from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, and a Master’s Degree from the University of Lagos, as well as a Certificate in Community Journalism from RUDN University, Russia.