NEWS
Protect Your Profession, Sen. Ewhrudjakpo Urges NIPR Members
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
Members of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) have been charged to redouble their efforts to protect the image and integrity of the Public Relations profession in the country.
The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the charge on Tuesday when a delegation from the state chapter of the Institute paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Yenagoa.
Ewhrudjakpo, who expressed concern at the alarming rate the Public Relations profession was being buffeted by the activities of quacks, said the NIPR as a professional body was not doing enough to checkmate the issue of quackery and safeguard the integrity of the profession.
He maintained that the activities of charlatans who parade themselves as PR people were ubiquitous on the Social Media space and has become quite worrisome for those who appreciate the importance of the profession.
While expressing readiness to support the Institute, Ewhrudjakpo, however called on the NIPR to take necessary steps to put an end to the caricature being made of an otherwise noble profession.
Responding to their demand for a suitable location to plant 60 trees in the state to mark the 60th anniversary of the NIPR, the Deputy Governor directed the State Ministry of Environment to liaise with the leadership of the NIPR to allocate a land space for the planting exercise.
“The Public Relations profession is buffeted by a lot of quacks because the true professionals are not doing enough. You see a lot of charlatans on Social Media masquerading as PR people. They do the PR job they claim to be doing in caricature ways.
‘Let us do more for the PR profession, now that the scheme of service has given a new nomenclature to public relations officers as “information and public relations officers.”
In his remarks, the Chairman of NIPR, Bayelsa State Chapter, Dr. Ebiwari Wariowei, explained that the reason for the visit was to invite the Deputy Governor to the tree planting event, as part of the activities marking the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of NIPR in Nigeria.
Wariowei, who commended Senator Ewhrudjakpo for his unrelenting support to the Governor, appealed to the State Government to support the Institute’s effort towards building a centre for the training and retraining of PR and information practitioners in the state.
He also requested for a suitable land space for the planting of 60 trees to enhance the beauty of the Yenagoa City as well as promote biodiversity and the green revolution programme in the state.
Also, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Africa, Toru Orua, Prof. Barclays Ayakoromo and the Amananaowei of Sabagreia, His Royal Highness, Sir Boukumo Orukari, acknowledged the love of the Deputy Governor for public relations.
They also acknowledged the the support and contributions of the pioneer civilian governor of the state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha in planting NIPR in Bayelsa, and appealed to the present administration to recognize the Institute as a worthy partner for the development of the state.
The highpoint of the visit was the presentation of two books, “Public Relations: The Most Excellent Profession” and “The Slum Boy King”, by the author, His Royal Highness, Sir Boukumo Orukari, to the Deputy Governor.
The Police Command in Anambra says gunmen have burnt its station in Umunze, Orumba South Local Government Area, killing two officers.SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, announced this in a statement issued in Awka on Monday.He said that the gunmen attacked the police facility with improvised explosives, shooting sporadically, which caused a fire to burn part of the station.
He said further that during the attack, two police operatives on duty were killed when they attempted to resist the gunmen. Ikenga stated that the bodies of the deceased policemen had been recovered and taken to the morgue.He also noted that joint security forces, including the police, army and navy, among others, had recovered five unexploded improvised explosives.Ikenga noted that the Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Nnaghe Itam, had visited the scene for assessment.He said that Itam called on anyone with information that could assist in the investigation to come forward, assuring then that such information would be treated confidential.(NAN)
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) has reiterated the Federal Government’s determination to maintain and operate a secure and efficient personnel and payroll system.In a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr Bawa Mokwa on Monday, the OAGF maintained that the Integrated Personal and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) database has not been compromised, assuring that employees personal data on the IPPIS database is safe and secured.
The OAGF, which manages the IPPIS and other financial management initiatives of the Federal Government, said it is already implementing its ICT Security Policy that aims to ensure that its digital assets are secured in line with global best practices. The Office explained that no data is saved on its website, adding that the IPPIS uses the website to only share information and not for any transaction. “The IPPIS is not using the OAGF website for any transaction. The website is actually the medium to share information. Neither payroll nor payment is made through the website, therefore, no data is contained in the website”, it said. The OAGF stated that the IPPIS validation portal that was recently developed for updates of employees information was deployed for a period and after the exercise was over, the data were pulled out and the site shut down permanently.According to the statement, “the IPPIS Validation Portal was deployed on a secure platform. A secured database and application were purchased from the popular HELIX-FONS.”The Office acknowledged that the IPPIS is of utmost importance to Nigerian workers, thus it became imperative to assuage the fears of any loss or breach of employees personal data in the IPPIS database. The OAGF noted that the IPPIS has put in place necessary mechanism to resolve any problem that may arise in its operations and advised workers that observe anomalies in their salaries to follow the official procedures inorder to get such issues resolved.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Nigeria’s headline inflation dropped to 32.15 percent in August, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report
The report released on Monday said the inflation eased the second time in 2024 after a 19 month increase that peaked at 34.19 percent in June.
“Looking at the movement, the August 2024 headline inflation
rate showed a decrease of 1.
It however, said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.35 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (25.80%).
“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in August 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.
e, August 2023).Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.22%, which was 0.06% lower than the rate recorded in August 2024 (2.28%).
” This means that in August 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is lower than the rate of increase in the
average price level in July 2024.”
The report added that food inflation rate in August 2024 was 37.52 percent on a year-on-year basis, which was 8.18% points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (29.34%).
It said the rise in food inflation
on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of; “Bread, Maize Grains, Guinea Corn, etc (Bread and Cereals Class), Yam, Irish Potatoes, Water Yam, Cassava Tuber, etc (Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Palm Oil, Vegetable, etc (Oil & Fats Class) and
Ovaltine, Milo, Lipton, etc (Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Class).”
But on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.37 percent, a 0.10% decrease compared to the rate recorded in July 2024 (2.47 percent).
“The fall can be attributed to the decline in the rate of increase in the average prices of Tobacco, Tea, Coco, Coffee, Groundnut Oil, Milk, Yam, Irish Potatoes, Water Yam, Cassava Tuber, Palm Oil, Vegetable etc.”
It added that the average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending August 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 36.99 percent, which was 11.98 percent points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in August 2023 (25.01 percent).
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