Senator, Commissioner Task NIPR On Perception Management

Members of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) have been challenged to come up with a blueprint on how best to communicate government policies to achieve the objective of such policies.

Speaking as chairman at the 2012 State Conference and Annual General Meeting of the NIPR at the Rivers State Horse of Assembly complex auditorium last Thursday, Senator George Sekibo, said the misperception of public policies and programmes has destroyed the expected gains of such policies and urged NIPR members to come up with refreshing  ideas on how to deal with the problem.

According to him, Public Relations practitioners are specially trained and equipped to appraise challenges and strategise to meet the purpose of effective communication of policies in any organisation.

He remarked that theme of the conference, “communicating government policies” was well conceived as failure to communicate policies has led to unwarranted opposition of very good government policies in the country.

Senator Sekibo who is also the chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence and Army stated that legislators are committed to making good laws that will improve the lives of those they  represent, adding that there is need to educate ourselves on the duties and responsibilities  of elected representatives as well as our privileges for the benefit of all stakeholders.

In her speech, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mrs Ibim Sementiari, urged the NIPR to partner with the Ministry on the best way to ‘ communicate policy.

She noted that the state Governor has adopted an effective means of communicating its policies through the use of Town Hall meetings  and advised the NIPR to brace up for the emerging digital media.

The commissioner who is also a council member of the NIPR stated that public relation deals with truth and verifiable facts and added that the performance of the present administration is evident as it has attracted investors to the state.

In his address, the chairman of the NIPR, Rivers State Chapter, Barrister Karibi George observed that that there is need for adequate stakeholder engagement before policies are executed.

He condemned the spate of bombings in the country by the Boko Haram sect and the growing incidences of corruption.  The NIPR chairman said “the Pension Fund Scan and the Petroleum Subsidy Probe by the National Assembly are unequivocal examples of corruption with impurity” and urged the culprits to be justly visited with the full weight of the law.

Delivering a keynote address, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Amnesty Programme, Hon. Kingsley Kuku who was represented by Mr Larry Pepple disclosed the various efforts to rehabilitate and re-integrate ex-militants, noting that many of them are in the best institutions undergoing training in skills that are required aviation, marine, oil and gas and other critical areas of need.

He said amnesty was not a cure-all therapy but a strategic intervention of the federal government to restore peace in the Niger Delta.

Alpheaus Paul-Worika