The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), has urged government at all levels to consider establishing a Ministry of Public Relations.
A former Chairman of the NIPR in Imo, Mr Onyema Ubaka, made the appeal at the institute’s questioning public lecture series in Owerri, on Wednesday.
He spoke on the theme, “The Role of Public Relations in Government Relations: A Case Study of NIPR Imo State Chapter.”
Ubaka who is also a former Deputy Registrar of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, said that the establishment of the ministry would help government attract greater legitimacy.
He argued that since the current Ministry of Information is occupied with image making for governments and defense of government policies, it would be necessary to establish a ministry that would serve as a point of interface between government and the public.
According to him, the ministry, while synergizing with public relations experts, would find out actual needs of communities with a view to channeling government efforts and interventions in their right direction.
“For Government to attract legitimacy, there should be a deliberate effort and policy to create the Ministry of Public Relations at both state and federal levels.
“This way, the ministry will achieve goodwill for government and build the confidence of the electorate in government,“ he said.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser to Gov. Hope Uzodimma on Public Orientation, Chief Fidel Onyeneke, said that the Ministry, when established, would open the way for greater engagements by government with the masses.
Onyeneke, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Imo, however, advised public relations experts to take advantage of the legislative procedures in pursuit of the proposal to establish the ministry.
A Fellow of the institute, Mr Sunny Dominic, harped on increased collaboration of the institute with the Ministry of Information for the creation of directorate of public relations in the ministry for better professionalism.
Also, Chairman of the NIPR in Imo, Mr Ever Nwosu, thanked Ubaka for the proposal and expressed readiness to partner with relevant stakeholders at all levels to ensure its realization.
