73.5% of Nigerian spokespersons don’t have country at heart – NIPR

The President and Chairman of the Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr Ike Neliaku, has stated that research shows 73.5% of Nigerian spokespersons don’t really think about nation building. The president spoke on Tuesday in Abuja during a courtesy visit to the Headquarters of Media Trust Group, owners of Daily Trust, […]

The President and Chairman of the Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr Ike Neliaku, has stated that research shows 73.5% of Nigerian spokespersons don’t really think about nation building.

The president spoke on Tuesday in Abuja during a courtesy visit to the Headquarters of Media Trust Group, owners of Daily Trust, Weekend Trust, Teen Trust, Digital Trust, Aminiya, Trust TV and Trust Radio.

Dr Neliaku noted that what is most important to the spokespersons is simply the organisations they are speaking for.

“But if there is no Nigeria, there will be no spokesperson. You won’t have any organisation to speak for. Our nation is going through challenges and the best we can do as social engineers that we are, would be to get that important element into the society first.”

He added that to remedy the situation, the institute is organising a spokespersons’ summit where it would launch the NIPR charter and code of practice, to aid professionals in administering their duties.

He explained that the charter is not about regulation but designed in a way to help spokespersons in doing their jobs.

He added that the institute dedicates a week to celebrate the Nigeria Public Relations Week and this year would dwell on the importance of focus on the solid minerals buried under the country that is untapped.

He said the institute is paying strict attention to managing the reputation of the Federal Government of Nigeria and has launched the Nigeria Reputation Day marked for 15th of October each year.

Earlier, NIPR’s chairman, National Planning Committee, Prof. Sule Ya’u Sule, said the spokespersons summit would come up in April and sought the partnership of Media Trust in ensuring its success.

He stated that despite the existence of many spokespersons in the country, most of them are not trained and don’t act in accordance with the law as they are not familiar with the laws governing spokespersons’ work.

“So, NIPR in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Information came up with this idea. We had the first edition last year, and the second one is coming up from 14th to 17th of April,” he said.

On his part, the Media Trust Group’s Executive Director for Finance, Investment and Infrastructure, Nura Daura, emphasised the need to promote Nigeria on a positive note at all times.

He also disclosed that the company is embarking on a Central AI newsroom that will revolutionise the media space.