Nigeria Will Play Leading Role In PR Practice In Africa – Information Minister
The Federal Government has declared that Nigeria will continue to play a leading role in strengthening and elevating public relations practice at home and across Africa.
Minister of Information and National Orientaion, Mr Mohammed Idris, who stated the position of government when he received the President of the African Public Relations Association, Mr. Arik Karani, noted that Nigeria was, for the longest time, the only country in Africa that had a law that professionalized public relations.
Idris noted that it was Nigeria that started it on the continent, adding that only last year did Zambia come out with its own law.
In his words; “So, now we have two countries on the continent, and only now in Kenya, the bill for professionalizing public relations is at the second reading in Parliament”.
The Information minister welcomed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, to establish a degree-awarding academy for public relations practice in Nigeria.
Idris particularly applauded the recent election of a Nigerian, Dr Omoniyi Ibietan, as the Secretary-General of the African Public Relations Association (APRA).
The minister said that Public Relations (PR) has now been designated as a cadre in the Federal Civil Service, with effect from December 2023, adding that the Information Officer Cadre has been re-designated to ‘Information and Public Relations Officer Cadre’, and the Executive Cadre to ‘Executive Officer (Information and Public Relations)’.
He noted that the NIPR played a critical role in championing this, and deserve commendation, adding that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will continue to provide the enabling environment for everybody within Nigeria’s communications industry to thrive.
