FG Synergise To Reorient Nigerians
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation and Public Complaints Commission are set to partner in an effort to reorient Nigerians.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, was full of praises for the Public Complaints Commission for its role in arbitration, especially through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), when the Management of the Commission paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
Minister Idris, highlighted the commission’s efforts in relieving so many parties from the burden of going through court processes, thereby bringing down the cost of getting justice for Nigerians.
He noted that the activities of the commission are underreported and assured that they will henceforth be on the front burner so that Nigerians can benefit from their services and restore their confidence in government services.
According to the Minister, there is a gradual erosion in the kind of trust and confidence that Nigerians have over the years in government and its officials, and that is why the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s mantra, the Renewed Hope agenda, is about renewing the hope of Nigerians about their country as he said that every one has a role to play in that assignment.
Mr. Idris stated that President Tinubu has always said that reorientation has to be given a central focus so that we can all have the Nigeria we all desire.
On the issue of corruption in various sectors in Nigeria, the Minister informed the meeting that President Tinubu has identified the fight against corruption as one of the eight priority areas of his administration.
This, according to the Minister, is why the Ministry of Information and National Orientation has a symbiotic relationship with the Commission in terms of re-orienting Nigerians, especially against corruption.
He said the Ministry will continue to engage with the commission for the development of ideas for reaching members of the public with their mandate.
The Chief Commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission, Mr. Abimbola Ayo-Yusuf, in his speech, stated that between 1st, July 2021, and 1st June, 2023, the commission received 258,780 complaints and resolved over 170, 000 of them.
According to him, these figures are aside cases initiated by the Commission to address systemic issues in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and the Private Sector.
He said what makes complaints unique is that they come mainly from the Nigerian workforce and the underprivileged, who ordinarily cannot afford the cost of Justice in the Nigerian judicial System.
The commission, he said, uses the Ombudsman approach of mediation, conciliation, and arbitration, all within the spheres of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism and their services are free of charge.
A statement, signed by the Deputy Director, Press Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, quoted the Chief Commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission as saying that even though in order to cover Nigeria adequately, the Nigerian Ombudsman has offices in every State of the Federation manned by a Federal Commissioner, it still lacks adequate publicity to let the public benefit from their services.
The chairman noted that the commission needs the support of the ministry to achieve better publicity to stem the tide of administrative injustice and promote good governance.
