PR Crucial to Growing Nigeria’s Non-oil Sector –NIPR

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has described the practice of public relations as a veritable tool to promote the country’s non-oil sector. The Institute stated this at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory recently.

President and Chairman of Council, NIPR, Dr. Rotimi Oladele, who expressed delight at the huge attendance at the event, commended council members and other members of the Institute for the current new phase of development at the Institute.

According to him, the Institute is now waxing stronger with each passing day, “many thanks to the council members for their supports and meaningful contributions to the progress of the Institute”.

Oladele promised to sustain the rejuvenation of the Institute while calling on the public relations practitioners to see the need to use their wealth of experience to help Nigeria in boosting her economy.

Citing, how Dubai and other countries have exploited public relations to drive their economy, the NIPR president said that practitioners in the country should think out of the box and offer meaningful public relations strategies that would aid the economic development of the country.

On the theme of the AGM, the NIPR president said that it has become imperative in view of the fall in the global price of oil and the need to sustain the current diversification efforts of the Federal Government, employing the practice of public relations.

Oladele, said that with the country’s quest to boost the non-oil sector, both Journalism and Public Relations should be adequately employed. He noted that both Journalism and Public Relations should be employed to project the positive attributes of the country to the outside world. This, according to Oladele is developmental journalism and public relations.

On his part, the chairman of the occasion, Col. Shehu Ibrahim (rtd.), noted that non-oil sector was not limited to agriculture but also includes technology, medical tourism among others.

Ibrahim, who is also the chairman, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), lamented how the Nigerian media has helped in fueling the negative perceptions about the country.