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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.
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