By Olamide Adewale
The Commissioner for Information, Ekiti State, Rt. Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun, the Acting Registrar of the Federal Polytechnic Ado- Ekiti, Prince Sunday Adeyemi-Adejolu FNIPR and High Chief Femi Ajayi FNIPR, have been honoured with award of recognition by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR Ekiti State Chapter, while promising to sanction non members practicing in the State.
In his response to the honour bestowed on him and others at the Secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ado-Ekiti, the Commissioner said “I see it as a privilege to have this award, it is important for me to commend the NIPR Chairman for portraying the Association and representing the government and its activities in good light. If we are having good governance and the public don’t know about it, the government can not stand. So it’s good to commend you, the government of Biodun Oyebanji likes what you are doing, we are going to be a good partner.”
While urging the Institute to continue its support for the government, Olatunbosun said irrespective of the economic issues in the country that Ekiti is prepared to scale through as the government is supporting businesses and agriculture.
The immediate past Chairman of the Institute and the current Acting Registrar of the Federal Polytechnic Ado- Ekiti, Prince Sunday Adeyemi-Adejolu who solicited government support for the Institute in Ekiti, noted that those who are not trained as Public Relations Officers but practicing in the State would soon be sanctioned saying their practice contradicts the NIPR Act.
Citing Ekiti Information Commissioner as an instance, he said that the Right Honourable is already a member and urged that he should use his good position to get the Press Officers in the various ministries and Information Officers across the Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas in the State registered for the Professional body.
Also, in his remark at the event, Chief Femi Ajayi, one of the awardees who emphasized the need for government collaboration with Public Relations in respect to goodwill urged the Ekiti State Commissioner for Information to ensure a workable collaboration with Ekiti Chapter of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations for more positive impact by utilizing the services of registered PR practitioners in generating strategic marketing communication in governance.
“For any government to succeed it should have a deliberate and sustained cordial relationship both internally and externally utilizing the practitioners for effective services of professionally trained practitioners”.
Commending the Commissioner for Information, Olatunbosun for his steadfastness in carrying out his responsibility accordingly, the NIPR Chairman in the State, Mr Anthony Adesua used the occasion to call on non members practicing in different institutions in the State to join the Institute.
“Now you see Ekiti in the news, there is nothing happening in Ekiti that you will not hear, we commend the Information Commissioner”. Adesua said.
At the occasion were all active NIPR members in the State, friends and families of the award recipients.
