Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has acknowledged that Nigerians are beginning to doubt the genuineness of the ‘Change Agenda’ of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, due to the difficult situations in the country, including lingering fuel scarcity, poor power supply and run-away inflation.

The government’s spokesman, who made the submission today during his maiden meeting with Resident Information Officers (RIOs) from Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), at the National Press Centre, Radio House, Abuja, charged: “This means we have to re-double our efforts to keep Nigerians informed about the efforts of the government to bring about the change that we have promised. Of course, it is no news that as the lead ministry in driving the ‘Change Agenda’, the responsibility to strategically communicate this administration’s efforts falls squarely on us.”

Earlier in his speech, he expressed his pleasure in meeting with the information officers. “It is my pleasure to meet with you all today. Since my assumption of duty as the Minister of Information and Culture, I have held several meetings with various stakeholders in the information and culture sectors. The meetings have all been geared at enhancing the relationship with the stakeholders and facilitating the realisation of my vision of leveraging the unique power of information and culture, with a view to ensuring that Nigerians take ownership of the ‘Change Agenda’ to bring about a paradigm shift in the way we do things.”

Charging the RIOs on their responsibilities, Alhaji Mohammed said it is very critical and must be dispensed at an optimal level, so as not to create a huge gap in information gathering dissemination chain, adding that the ability to keep Nigerians adequately informed about the goings on in government is hinged on how well the RIOs are able to give the much-needed feedback from their various postings.

On the importance of communicating, and information management of the current administration, he proffered: “It is obvious that no matter what the Federal Government does, if it is not reported, it is as good as not done. We are the centre-point of all MDAs, hence we cannot afford to fail. The challenge before us, as Federal Government Information Managers, therefore, is to ensure that we keep Nigerians duly informed of the activities of government and get a feedback from the people, using all our professional and ethical skills.”

He advised them to always adopt modern feedback mechanism in addressing issues, as it remains a very important element in effective communication process, noting that timely and effective management of issues is the best way to prevent crises. “You, as Resident Information Officers, are the representatives of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in various MDAs and, therefore, your activities and programmes must reflect the activities of the ministry, so as to achieve the much-desired change. You must form a synergy and avoid the temptation of working at cross-purpose with your parent ministry.”

In her speech, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mrs Ayotunde Adesugba, said: “We live in an information age, where wealth and productive capacity of nations are related to the information and communication infrastructure available to its populace. I know that there are many RIOs who are working very hard; committed officers who continue to exhibit immense dedication, passion and altruism in the work they do.”

•Photo shows Lai Mohammed.

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