As part of efforts to transform and reposition the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), the newly elected President and Chairman of the Governing Council, Dr. Ike Neliaku has set up five work teams to help run the smooth operations of the council.
This was made known in a press statement signed by the Registrar/Secretary of the Council, Uzoma Onyegbadue, and shared with Brand Communicator.
The first team is tasked with the repositioning of the National Secretariat. To be led by the Vice President, Prof Emmanuel Dandaura, the team will be responsible for reviewing the content and implementation status of the 2014 NIPR Corporate Governance and Administrative Restructuring Report (CGARR) and Conducting an audit of the staff of the National Secretariat to produce the current staff disposition list and make recommendations that could enhance staff motivation and other establishment matters, as well as Identify new challenges, not captured in the CGARR, that are affecting smooth operations of the National Secretariat.
According to the statement, the second team will work on the review of Council Committees. This will be led by ranking Council Member, Dr. Sule Yau Sule, fnipr. They are charged with the responsibilities to conduct an audit of the functions and composition of extant Council Committees; Identify statutory/standing Council committees as specified in the NIPR Act; Review the performance of the previous Council Committees to identify the learning points that could assist the Council in avoiding the pitfalls of the past; and Make Recommendations that could assist Council design committees that will be functional and effective in meeting the needs of NIPR.
The third team will work on Sustainable Sources of Funding NIPR Activities and Programmes. This will be led by Council Member Ini Ememobong, to amongst others, “review existing sources of funding available to the Institute to identify gaps and best practices that would guide Council in ensuring sustainable revenue henceforth; assess the level of compliance to the 2014 NIPR Financial Guidelines and make necessary recommendations for improvement where necessary; recommend new and alternative sources of funding/revenue for NIPR programmes and activities; and recommend creative strategies and mechanisms that the Council could deploy to ensure effective revenue mobilization and sustainable financial best practices,” the statement read.
The fourth team which will work on compliance to NIPR Act will be under the leadership of Brig. Gen SK Usman Rtd. The team will be responsible for “reviewing the extent to which public and private organisations comply with the NIPR Act which prohibits the use of quacks for PR functions in Nigeria; Map all cases of violation of the Act that have been entertained by Nigerian Courts and identify good practices that could assist the Council in ensuring better compliance and enforcement of the Act; Identify the loopholes that violators exploit to circumvent the Act and how such could be blocked; Assess readiness of the national secretariat to engage in effective enforcement of the Act; Recommend steps to be taken by the Council to facilitate strict compliance and enforcement of the NIPR Act, including identification of possible compliance ambassadors/vanguards or resource persons in this regard; and Liaise with the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to ascertain the procedure or requirements for setting up the tribunal to try NIPR Act violators by the Attorney General as specified in the Act.”
Finally, NIPR Programmes and Ideas, led by the Vice President, Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura, fnipr, will collate the ideas and programmes of G29 members (all Council election candidates) and harmonise them into a working document that could serve as input to the NIPR Strategic Plan of Action; Conduct a needs assessment of the expectations of NIPR Members and make relevant recommendations that could assist the Council in understanding the yearnings and expectations of members of the Institute; and Make other recommendations that could enrich the process of evolving a strategic plan for the Institute (2023-2032).”