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Mr. Charles Aniagwu.

The Delta State Commissioner of Information, Mr. Charles Ehiedu Aniagwu says his major tasksis to make friends for the State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa.

He stated this on Friday, August 23rd, 2019, when members of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, Delta State Chapter paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Asaba.

Aniagwu, who appreciated the visit, pledged to partner the Institute in promoting positive image of the State to the world, adding that the visit was more of a friendly affair.

He said: “There are so much grounds to cover, even though my predecessor did a lot to reposition the Ministry. I am seriously getting myself acquainted with the routine schedules of office. However, when your request came, I had to shelve every other thing to receive you, knowing the importance of such a body to the administration of Governor Okowa and the relevance it would attach in easing the job of proper information and reputation management.

“My major task as Commissioner for Information is to make friends for the Governor and manage information for the peace and progress of the state. I need everybody for this task, except that we will not condone those who are not ready to work and drive the process with us but appearing under the pretence of we are all involved.

“While we will not relent in our drive to reposition the Agencies under the Ministry of Information in line with the image and policy thrust of the state; it will be our pleasure to partner and collaborate with the NIPR to market our Stronger Delta product”, he affirmed.

Aniagwu, who was presented with the NIPR admission form, however, accepted the invitation for membership into the Institute. He narrated how he made efforts to join the Institute immediately after school but was not successful do to other engaging factors; nonetheless, he appreciated the Delta State Chapter for honouring him with such a rare privilege.

Earlier in his speech, the Chairman of the Institute in Delta, Chief Patrick Ukah who was represented by the Secretary, Mr Godfrey Osakwe congratulated Aniagwu for attaining such a height of becoming a Commissioner within the political space of Delta State.

Defining PR and what the Institute stands for in Nigeria, the Chairman also gave a run down of activities of the State Chapter, stating how Chief Ukah resuscitated the Chapter through the backing of the National Body, led by Mr. Oladele Rotimi at the time.

Osakwe affirmed that as at today, NIPR Delta State Chapter remains a reference point as one of the most outstanding Chapters in terms of membership.

He averred that in terms of performance, Delta was still lagging behind, but could raise the bar through professional engagements. He noted that as a result of this challenge, the Chapter had initiated to host the November edition of the Institute’s membership induction in line with the Chapter’s AGM during which the Governor would be invested as the Chapter Patron.

Meanwhile, Information Officers in Delta State have been warned to desist from the
attitude of leaving the office without taking permission from their bosses.

The Commissioner , Mr Charles Aniagwu, gave the warning Friday during a meeting with information officers in the Delta state, adding that going and coming to work when they like had consequences.
He said that as information officers, they should be able to convince the public about the activities of government, saying that without the report from the information officers, government would not be able to know the happenings in the localities.

He stated that officers should report beyond the state government activities and source for news in other places, saying it would make the public have interest in their news.

He implored them to work together as Deltans in other to move the state forward, adding that it would pay them more to make the ministry more productive.

According to Mr Aniagwu, information officers should be able to explain the mind of the state government to the public, saying this would help the public to understand the activities and programmes of government.

He assured information officers of internal and external training to position them on the right track, adding that no officer in the state would be intimated as long as he remained the commissioner.

The commissioner noted that any information officer whose work was being threatened should report to the ministry for immediate attention, saying, “Rejecting the information officer sent to MDAs means rejecting the state.”

He assures that Identity cards would be issued to all public enlightenment officers (PEOs) as Pointer correspondent.

The commissioner promised to provide adequate working tools to PROs/PEOs In the state to enable them carry out their duties effectively, even as he urged the officers to work hard to take the ministry to a higher level, saying that there would always be reward for hard work.

Present at the meeting were the Functioning Permanent Secretary, Mr Paul Osahor and all the directors in the ministry among others.