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By Ese Obote-Ogwu

The point has been made that persons engaged in the work of Public Relations in corporate organizations, as Commissioners, Ministers and spokespersons must be certified members of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR)

The Chairman of Delta State Chapter of the Institute, Mr. Godfrey Osakwe made the point when he led executive members on a courtesy call on the Commissioner of information, Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza in the ministry, even as he harped on the imperative of relationship management by governments, organisations and institutions.

Stating that NIPR is an institute backed by law, Osakwe said: “We have come to congratulate you on your appointment, we have followed your track record and we know that you will bring your experience to bear to be able to communicate the right values, government programmes and policies to Deltans.”

While relating the history of the Institute to the commissioner, Mr. Osakwe explained that NIPR is an Institute backed by law in Nigeria and Africa, adding that by the law “all Information Officers, Commissioners for Information, spokespersons for any organization or government parastatal must be certified members of the Institute.”

He affirmed that Public Relations is about relationship management, inculcating healthy working ethics in the discharge of one’s duty, nation building, as well as interpreting government policies and programmes, which helps in the development of a state or nation.

Osakwe expressed hope for a robust working relationship with the Commissioner and the Ministry of Information.

In his response, the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Ifeanyi Osouza, expressed delight at the visit and appreciated the Institute for their efforts in publicizing the activities of the state government, especially the M.O.R.E agenda of the present administration.

He tasked members of the executive to play their roles to ensure that the vision of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori becomes a reality, stressing that the governor is passionate about the development of the state.

Dr. Osouza said: “If we are able to give him the needed cooperation, he would do much more than he is doing now.”

The information commissioner pledged to support the institute and accepted the call for membership.

The Highlight of the visit was the presentation of the membership form of the Institute to the Commissioner.