National Spokespersons Summit Opens In Abuja
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
The maiden edition of the National Spokespersons Summit organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, and the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, has opened in Abuja with a call on public relations professionals in the country to serve as guardians of truth and national integration through effective communication.
Vice President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima, who made the call while declaring open the two day summit tagged “Change Narrative, Change Society,” which had in attendance spokespersons from both public and private sectors emphasised the critical role image-building and narrative construction play in maintaining social order.
The two-day summit seeks to address the challenges of communicating in an era of information overload especially in the face of growing threats of disinformation and hate speech.
Vice President Shettima, represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Mr. Stanley Nkwocha, stressed the immense responsibility spokespersons hold as the voice of their organizations or principals, representing their values, visions, missions, and aspirations to the public.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, on his part, said Nigeria’s national identity must transcend religion, ethnicity or politics hence the need for a compelling national narrative that inspires trust and confidence amongst citizens.
The Minister said his ministry’s soon to be unveiled flagship national orientation campaign tagged “Nigeria Values Charter” embodies a social contract between the country and the citizenry and will serve as a blueprint and policy for a national values system, defining Nigerians and reinforcing their personality as citizens.
The National President of NIPR, Dr Ike Neliaku, had earlier said, that the essence of the summit was to train spokespersons to become experts in their field so as to use communication for national integration.
