Communiqué issued at the 46TH
meeting OF THE national council on information (NCI) held at EVENT CENTRE,
ASABA DELTA STATE FROM THURSDAY 27TH TO FRIDAY 28TH OCTOBER, 2016.
PREAMBLE
1.0. The Meeting of the National Council on Information
(NCI) was held at the Event Centre,
Asaba, Delta State, from Thursday 27th to Friday 28th,
October, 2016, with the theme: “Leveraging on Information and Digital
Technology to Sustain the Change Agenda of Government”. It was attended
by 548 delegates from 29 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Goodwill Messages were presented by Mr. Festus Okubor, former Commissioner for
Information, Delta State, and Mr. Nobert Chiazor, Chairman Delta State Chapter
of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), as well as Comrade Alex Akpu,
Chairman, Radio, Television and Theatre Workers Union (RATTAWU) Delta State.
1.1.
A
welcome address was delivered by the Executive Governor of Delta State, Senator
Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, who declared the meeting open. He observed that the reality of our
fast-paced, high tech global world dictates that information is classified as a
valuable asset. When governments suffer
from credibility crisis, the problem is often traceable to improper, inadequate
and inefficient information management that creates a chasm and fuels distrust
between the governed and their leaders.
Hence, information management should be given the same professional,
skillful handling and strategic deployment accorded other valuable assets, to
maximize its value in public administration and corporate governance.
1.2.
He
also observed that “we live in an
information age; information technology is revolutionizing the way we live,
work and do business. It has also
impacted significantly on the way governments are run. The social media and other digital platforms
have empowered the citizens, and significantly altered the media
landscape. It is a welcome development
to the extent that it promotes citizen participation in government”.
1.3. In his
keynote address, the Hon. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, welcomed dignitaries and
participants to the 46th Meeting of the National Council on
Information. He observed that the
theme, “Leveraging on Information and Digital Technology to Sustain the Change
Agenda of Government’’ was very apt, adding that it however evokes a
sense of paradox in relation to the great challenges posed by the social media,
in circumstances where users’ excesses are increasingly becoming a daunting
challenge to information managers. He emphasised that digital technology would
undoubtedly facilitate the work of Information Managers but regretted that
rabble-rousers and emergency purveyors seeking to distort information also have
online access to the same technology, in circumstances where the latter is
faster at attracting readers’ attention and sympathy.
1.4. The
Minister further noted that this explains why the Social Media would create and
report unfounded rumours to the effect that “Change Begins With Me’’,
the National Re-orientation Campaign project that was launched by Mr. President
in September, 2016 costs the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture 3.4 billion Naira, whereas the
Ministry’s entire capital budget for 2016 was under 2 billion Naira.
1.5. With
regard to the specific question of what
the administration’s Change
Agenda is all about, he said; “It
is the change from impunity to accountability, change from corruption to
transparency, change from a mono-product economy to a diversified economy,
change from unemployment to job creation, change from moral decadence to moral
revival, change from lost values to restoration of time-tested values, change
from reliance on imported goods to made-in-Nigeria products and change from
gender insensitivity to gender sensitivity, just to mention a few examples”
1.6. The
meeting of officials to prepare the framework for the Council meeting was held
from Thursday, 27th October, 2016, under the Chairmanship of the
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture,
Mrs. Ayotunde Adesugba.
Mrs. Ayotunde Adesugba.
After
exhaustive deliberations, Council resolved as follows:
1)
That both the Federal and
State Ministries of Information and Culture should mount aggressive campaigns
through relevant media messages aimed at making people, especially the youths,
to embrace the acquisition of skills as a gainful means to make a living and
thus, contribute to the economic development of the country. Also, the National Directorate of Employment
should be involved in the campaign as well as other relevant MDAs e,g,
Education, Youths Development.
2)
That all State Ministries of
Information should collaborate with the National Film and Video Censor Board
(NFVCB) centres nationwide to carry out massive National Sensitization Campaign
against unwholesome movies.
3)
To encourage States to
activate their all media platforms as veritable tools to promote government
policies, programmes and key into the “Change Begins With Me” Campaign.
4)
To urge the Federal and States
Governments to fast-track action on rural internet connectivity and organize
training in all the 774 Local Government Areas on the use of e-media to
facilitate rural and urban connectivity.
5)
That the recommendations on
the memo on the menace of herdsmen were more of security issues and our role is
to emphasise on what unites rather than what divides us.
6)
That in line with its mandate
the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) will provide necessary guidelines to states
in their effort to set up the film offices and listed benefits accruable to
states.
7)
To adopt the “Change
Begins With Me” as a way of life and support the campaign for its
successful implementation and sustainability.
8)
To carry out coordinated
enlightenment campaigns on government efforts to rehabilitate the North-East in
order to counter negative media reports on the welfare of displaced persons in
the IDP camps.
9)
To encourage the media to make
attractive, the agricultural sector by promoting mechanized farming and
showcasing successful farmers, promote the creative industries and the
uniqueness of tourism as an important sector which is evident in its ability to
employ skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled manpower.
10)
To sponsor public
enlightenment campaign programmes through radio, television, newspapers, and
social media in the area of mineral resources exploration and exploitation in
collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Steel and Solid Mineral Development.
11)
To urge Federal and State
Government authorities to fast-track action on rural internet connectivity and
organize training in all the 774 Local Government Areas on the use of e-media
to facilitate rural and urban connectivity.
12)
To encourage governments at
all levels to enter into public/private partnerships to mitigate the economic
burden on stakeholders affected by the Digital Switchover (DSO).
13)
To direct State radio and television
stations to air jingles produced on the campaign against illicit drug use and
trafficking provided by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture free of
charge as a social responsibility to the people.
14)
That both Federal and State
Ministries of Information should mount aggressive campaigns to checkmate the
spread of Haemorhagic fever ailments. Council.
That media should take the lead in collaboration with Ministries of
Health and Environment.
15)
That the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) and other relevant stakeholders should support the Federal
Ministry of Information and Culture and State Ministries of Information in the
financial inclusion campaign being championed by the bank for wider awareness.
16)
That Ministries, Departments and
Agencies (MDAs) of government should obey the Act (Decree 16 of 1990)
establishing the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and ensure that
all Information Officers are properly registered with NIPR as a model for
corporate bodies to follow.
17)
To encourage the Federal and
State governments to embark on massive enlightenment campaigns on dry season
farming in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development.
18)
To ensure that broadcast
challenges through technology are addressed through effective and transparent
policies.
19)
To endorse and support the
collaboration of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture with the
National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies to formulate a new National Information Policy.
20)
The media should be involved
in exposing ill-gotten wealth through investigative journalism and make public
office holders give account of their stewardship through the media regularly.
21)
To establish social media unit
and project monitoring teams in the Ministries of Information for effective
public enlightenment.
Council also noted as follows:
1)
The invitation by the Nigerian
Film Corporation to participate in the 2017 Nigerian International Film
Festival.
2)
The beneficiaries of the
Nigerian Film Institute and Media Arts Studies (NAFIMAS) as being in position
to be employers of labour thereby supporting the administration’s efforts at
job creation.
3)
The need for the National
Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to assume a more robust and progressive role of
empowering broadcasters and media managers to perform better for the
development of the larger society than to impose sanctions and fines.
4)
To encourage and endorse
Public-Private Partnership arrangement to ensure the proposed Multi-Media
Centre in the FCT and all states of the Federation.
5)
The progress so far recorded
and encourages the states to put in place infrastructure for digital switch
over before June, 2017.
6)
Thank the Government and
people of Delta State for their hospitality.
7)
That the date and venue for
the next meeting of Council was scheduled for September, 2017 to be jointly
hosted by Borno and Yobe States in Maiduguri.
COMMUNIQUE COMMITTEE
Federal
Representatives
1. Mr. E. N. Agbegir - Federal Ministry of Information
2. Mr. J. K. Lawal - Federal
Ministry of Information
3. Mr. James N. Chinyere - Federal Ministry of Information
4. Mrs. Bolanle-George T. B. - Federal
Ministry of Information
State
Representatives
1. Barr.
Rosemary Achibong (Chairman) - Cross River State -South South
2. Mr. Bonnie Iwuoha - Abia
State - South East
3. Mohammed B. Bulama - Borno State
- North
East
4. Hamza Mohammed Brodo - Katsina
State - North West
5. Mrs. Toyin Niran-Onisile - Ondo
State - South
West
6. Mallam Mohammad
Nazif - Plateau State - North Central
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