 |
From left: Secretary
General, Adetola Odusote; Publicity Secretary, Israel Jaiye Opayemi, President,
John Ehiguese, all of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria
(PRCAN); Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Vice President
PRCAN, Muyiwa Akintunde; and immediate past President, PRCAN Chido Nwakanma,
during a courtesy visit to the Minister in his Abuja office on Friday
|
The Minister of Information and
Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has given assurances that the Federal Government
and its agencies will work with Nigerian public relations consultants in the
execution of their communication projects.
Receiving a delegation of the Public
Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) on an advocacy visit to his
office in Abuja, the Minister said that he understood the importance of Public
Relations consultancy having been a Public Relations professional all his
professional life.
Mohammed said, “As for your request
that government should involve your members in planning and executing PR campaigns,
you are preaching to the converted. Discussions are ongoing on the need
to patronise Nigerian PR consultants when planning government campaigns.
So be rest assured on that.”
The Minister added that the Federal
Government would not but do the right thing. “The foreign consultants got to
where they are today because they were given opportunities. We will ensure that PRCAN
agencies are given the first right of refusal on any campaign by Ministries,
Department and Agencies.”
The Minister also appealed to PRCAN
member-firms’ sense of volunteerism at the moment as there were still some process
hurdles to be crossed, just as he expressed the hope for a robust long-term
relationship with PRCAN. He pleaded with the association to ensure the
relationship between both parties did not end with the visit.
Earlier, PRCAN President, John
Ehiguese, who led the PRCAN delegation, had expressed the readiness of its member-firms
to assist the Federal Government of Nigeria with its numerous policy
communication programmes and campaigns.
Ehiguese explained that the primary
objective of the visit was to seek how the PRCAN member-firms could contribute their
quota to the success of the numerous policy communications programmes and campaigns of the Federal Government.
His words: “There is no doubt that our country is beset by several challenges. But I’m sure you will agree with me that a large chunk of these challenges can be effectively tackled if there is proper and effective communication. That reality alone underscores the importance and centrality of your cabinet portfolio as Honourable Minister of Information and Culture.”
The PRCAN President assured the
Minister that the association has opted to offer its hands of solidarity and support to the
Minister in helping to craft and execute communications campaign to
support government policies and programmes.
He requested that that henceforth
Nigerian PR firms should be seriously considered for communication assignments and be
given the opportunity to make inputs at the conception stage of such
programmes.
Ehiguese explained that, “asides the
patriotic imperative, we do indeed possess the relevant competences, both as
individual consultancy firms and as a collective, to provide strategic
communication support for government’s programmes. Many of our members are
already working for global Fortune 500 companies and successfully executing
their briefs. In addition some of our members belong to global PR
networks, and therefore have direct access to the competences, resources and tools
domiciled in such networks.”
He further assured the Minister that
it was the patriotic duty of PRCAN member-firms to make those resources available
for the use and benefit of Nigeria, being our country. He however assured
the Minister that even where the competences appear absent or in short
supply, PRCAN member-firms would be willing to outsource or go into collaboration
with external third parties in order to deliver, saying, “at the end
of the day, what is important is that Nigerian PR professionals
should begin to take the lead in executing Nigerian projects.”
“That is how we will grow, garner the
necessary skills and experience, as well as create jobs for our people. I should
like to mention that this is consistent with widely applauded, 'Buy Nigeria'
posture of the current government,” Ehiguese added.
The PRCAN President also appealed to
the Minister to help convey the message to other Ministries, Departments and
Agencies of government so they could tap into the reservoir of professional
help that are available in Nigeria to support their communication programmes.
Also in the PRCAN delegation were the
Vice President, Muyiwa Akintunde; Secretary General, Adetola Odusote; Publicity
Secretary, Israel Jaiye Opayemi; and the immediate past President, Chido
Nwakanma.
PRCAN is the consulting arm of the
Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) established by the NIPR by-law
No. 3 of 1993. Membership is exclusively restricted to consulting firms whose
key executives are members of NIPR and registered to practice public relations
in Nigeria.
PRCAN’s primary objective is to
promote professional reputation management practice in Nigeria across both the public and
private sectors. It is also committed to maintaining professional standards and
discipline among members and providing facilities and professional capacity
for the public and private sectors to meet their PR consultancy needs.
0 comments:
Post a Comment