2 weeks Ago By Apata Oyeniran
Dr. Ike Neliaku, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), has said that the proposed University of Public Relations and Leadership will be constructed on 100 hectares of land donated by the Nassarawa State government. He also revealed that the institute is partnering with the Global Alliance for Public Relations; Nasarawa State Government; Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation; and Leadership Advancement Foundation, to establish the University.
Dr Ike Niliaku who is also the Chairman of the Council of the institute was speaking at the just concluded Second Nigeria Spokespersons’ Summit (NSS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Information with the theme: “Integrity and the Evolving Roles of Spokespersons in Leadership Communication,” held at Abuja. He specially appreciated the governors of Jigawa and Nasarawa states, who are partnering with NIPR on two special projects. He also stated that the Jigawa State Government was partnering with NIPR on the REBIRTH Nigeria project, which is an initiative, from a professional private sector perspective, designed to complement the National Orientation Agency, on value reorientation, citizen education, service excellence, and promotion of made-in-Nigeria goods and services.
His words, “We are delighted to inform you that Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, has provided and presented to us the 100 hectares of land required to ensure that work commences for this unique university, the first of its kind in the world, takes off on schedule in 2026.” Earlier, in his welcome remarks, he said he was excited to welcome an array of spokespersons of the Nigerian government both past and present who atended the ceremony. He also said, “This second edition of NSS is unique in several ways.
First, we are using it to confer Fellowship of the Institute on deserving and outstanding Nigerians. I must emphasise that the Fellowship of NIP, be it professional or honorary, is strictly on merit and outstanding performance. While speaking at the event, the Information and National Orientation Minister, Mallam Mohammed Idris, who was the Chief host of the event, said, “in the attempt to tackle fake news, the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, has reached an advanced stage towards the take-off of the UNESCO Media Information Literacy (MIL) Institute”.
Honourable Idris said the MIL, which would be the first of its kind in the world, would be sited in Abuja, in the precincts of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). He said, “In fact, I have just returned from Paris, France, where I held a meeting with senior UNESCO officials, in which discussions on the impending take-off of the institute featured prominently. “As Minister of Information and National Orientation, I try to lead the way in sieving information and critically watching and analyzing before I leap.
“Steeped in the practice of public relations, one of the first things I did following my appointment was to create a set of five pillars to guide the delivery of this national mandate assigned to me by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. “It is no coincidence that the first of those five pillars, the restoration of public trust in government communications – overlaps extensively with the primary objectives of media and information literacy. “Also, as part of my efforts to deepen professional practice and improve the quality of engagement in the delivery of public communication, the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, last year, succeeded in the caderisation of Public Relations in the Federal Civil Service.
“What this means is that Public Relations has now been designated as a standalone cadre in the Federal Civil Service, with effect from December 2023. “What used to be known as the Information Officer Cadre has now been re-designated to ‘Information and Public Relations Officer Cadre’, and ‘Executive Officer (Information and Public Relations),” Idris added. Among those who were conferred with the Fellowship title of the Institute are the Speaker of Nigeria’s Federal House of Representatives, Rt.
Hon. Tajudeen Abbas; Dr. John Momoh, Chairman of Channels Media Group in recognition of his immense contribution to the field of communication in the past 4 decades and Chief John Nnia Nwodo, Nigeria’s former Minister of Information for distinguished and meritorious services to his country.
In attendance at the event are Chief Segun Osoba, former governor of Ogun state and Keynote Speaker; many past Information Ministers including Professor Jerry Gana; Chief Nnia Nwodo, Labaran Maku, Frank Nweke (Jnr.) and Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Mr. Gilbert Morton, Spokesperson (Press Attachè), Embassy of the United States of America in Nigeria who in his Goodwill Message expressed his joy to attend the auspicious event.
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