The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has said that close working relationship between the Institute and the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) if carefully handled, would improve the quality of information management in the security sector.
NIPR President Mallam Mukhtar Sirajo made the disclosure on Friday while receiving a delegation from the Centre for Crises Communication at the NIPR headquarters in Abuja.
Sirajo, who is also Chairman of the Governing Council of NIPR, commended the body for facilitating an integrated communication process in crisis management in the security sector.
He said that NIPR as an institute chartered by Act of the Parliament has a duty to ensure that all who indulged in the practice of Public Relations complied with the law.
Sirajo, who expressed the willingness of the institute to collaborate with the centre noted that security communication was strategic and a sensitive business which must be professionally done.
“The NIPR welcomes the support and understanding of key stakeholders in the task of nation building. It is important that the public knows that the institute is chartered.
“NIPR is neither an association nor a trade union. You cannot go to Corporate Affairs Commission to look for certificate of Incorporation of NIPR, you won’t get it.
“The institute is a creation of the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, therefore, we have the backing of the law to act accordingly,” Sirajo said.
He commended the efforts and impact of the centre since inception, pointing out that it had helped to reduce discordant and conflicting information from the security sector.
He said the institute as a responsible entity recognised the fact that some persons were already in the practice by error and called on those in that category to take advantage of the window of opportunity created by NIPR (Master Class) to regularise with the institute.
According to the NIPR boss, the relationship between the institute and the CCC will facilitate the certification of security information and image managers through the Institute’s “Master Class’’ and other training programmes which will equip them for greater efficiency.
He appealed to those who were not yet on the right side of the law concerning membership of the institute to do so, warning that the institute would soon publish list of defaulters in the country.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Centre for Crisis Communication, retired Air Commodore Yusuf Anas, said that the centre had recognised the NIPR as a relevant stakeholder, and sought partnership in the area of training and certification for security personnel for effective crises communication.
He explained that the CCC was initiated to address issues of conflict and crisis within the Nigerian security architecture, saying that the body had been successful in its vision by ensuring synergy in security communication in recent times.
Anas reiterated the need for all and sundry to take public relations seriously, saying that relationship building was everybody’s business, and commended the NIPR president for his role in building the reputation of the country.
“Your vision of repositioning the NIPR has been commendable, and we have seen that that the institute has been better redirected and focused to carry out its important role in national development,” he said.
While specifically congratulating the president for the success of the institute’s Annual General Meeting/Conference, which, he described as “well organised and attended”, said that the outing had positioned the institute as an invaluable stakeholder in the Nigerian project.
