NIPR begins membership audit

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has commenced a membership audit of bonafide members of the institute. This would also be followed by a recertification exercise. This disclosure was made by the Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of NIPR, Mr. Olusegun McMedal at a press briefing held at Elomaz Hotel, Maryland on Thursday.

Speaking during the formal presentation of the new executive members of the Lagos chapter, McMedal said his administration planned to strengthen the institute through the nurture and protection of membership.

“When I took over, I wanted to know how many members the Lagos chapter had but there was no record of that. I went to the national secretariat and asked but got the same reply. They just gave me a few records. From these records, I realized that most members that were inducted in the 80s and 90s had not moved on to the next level. Some who were on the level of associates in the 80s, still remained as associates. Many people had names without addresses or phone numbers. Some were already deceased so we realized there was an urgent need for proper auditing of our members”, he explained.

Noting that the membership audit would be the first of its kind in the history of NIPR, McMedal also added that members will have to undergo a re-certification exercise and Master Class projects to ensure they are genuine.

“We have a database in hardcopy so we would transfer it to digital form and then, to cloud. We will search for members with incomplete bio-data and ensure that members are constantly engaged and connected with the Institute. The exercise will be linked to the Re-certification exercise & Master Class projects. And to be realistic, we are targeting auditing 1,000 members in six months.

“This is an NGO so we run largely on funds gotten through payment of membership dues and subscriptions. We also noticed that many people haven’t paid their dues because they forgot so we are working with a software application firm to start e-payment solution. By this, we hope to make everything seamless and re-digitalize our processes”, he said.

The exercise will reduce paperwork and the cost of operation in addition to ensuring prompt notification of meetings, events, subscription renewals and upgrades.

In attendance were two past chairmen of the chapter: Mrs. Nkechi Alli-Balogun and Bar. Jide Ologun as well as two new Fellows of the Institute: Basil Agboarumi, General Manager, Corporate Communications, Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) and Revd. Abraham Oyebamiji, a former Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the Chapter.

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations is the umbrella body of professional Public Relations practitioners chartered to regulate as well as direct its development and the practice.