Minister inaugurates Governing Council of NIPR as new members are inducted

By Victoria Onehi

The Minister of Information and National Orientation Muhammed Idris Maligi, has inaugurated the 20 member Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).While inaugurating the council in Abuja on Tuesday,the Minister said it  was in line with the provision of the law establishing the institute.”

What we are doing today is in line with the provisions of the Act, CAP N114, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that established the Institute as the nation’s only professional body charged with the responsibility to regulate the practice and development of Public Relations in both private and public sectors in Nigeria. 

“Permit me therefore, to express my profound gratitude to the founding fathers of the Institute for their foresight and initiative of birthing the idea 60 years ago, and more importantly, their effort in elevating it to an enviable chartered status, which places the NIPR among the very few professional bodies in the world with such level of government recognition.” Maligi said.

The Governing Council of the Institute, is charged with the administration and general management of the Institute. It consist of the President and Vice President as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively, and a total of twenty other persons being fellows, members or associate members of the Institute. It consist of five persons appointed by the Minister; all of whom shall be persons engaged in the practice of public relations in Nigeria, and fifteen persons elected by the by the Institute.

In his acceptance speech,the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations,Dr Ike Neliaku promised to uphold the laws of the Institute and promote professionalism and excellence amongst members of the Institute as stipulated by  Section 4 of NIPR Professional Act, 2004.

He said the institute will partner with the government at federal, state and local levels to contribute to the growth and development of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; use the very rich body of knowledge in the Institute to create and come up with relevant programmes to support governnmnt.

Neliaku urged the 24 senior members who were also inducted at the occasion yesterday to help uphold the tenets of Public Relations in their various endeavor urging other spokesmen to take advantage of the platform created by NIPR to sharpen their skills and widen their horizon. 

The new members inducted are Chief Corporate Communications Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Mr Olufemi Soneye, Senior Special Assistant to the President-Strategic Communications (Communications Adviser at ECOWAS)Mrs Linda Nwabuwa Akhigbe and Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President,Abdulaziz Abdulaziz.

Others are Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to the Senate President Hon. Eseme Eyiboh,Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Deputy President of the Senate, Ismail Mudashiru, and Writer and Radio OAP, Benjamin Ubiri.