PRCAN slams FG for hiring foreign PR firm
Public Relations practitioners in Nigeria are not happy with the Federal Government’s decision to hire a British firm to manage the recently auctioned Eurobond. The operators who spoke through the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), an umbrella body for PR consultants in Nigeria, described the action as a disservice to the “Buy Nigeria, Save the Naira” campaign.
PRCAN was reacting to comments by Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance, that the Federal Government hired a British public relations firm to manage the recently auctioned Eurobond. According to the association, Adeosun’s action undermines the economy as it further put pressure on scarce foreign exchange resources and encourages capital flight.
PRCAN also called on the President Muhammadu Buhari to compel the Finance Minister to explain if the process of choosing the firm was in line with the provisions of the Public Procurement act regarding competitive bid from other equally qualified Public Relations consulting firms.
“It will also be of interest to the Nigerian people to know if the efficiency unit of the Federal Ministry of Finance signed off on the payment of the retainer fee allegedly paid to the PR firm in question,” John Ehiguese, President of the association, said in the statement.
Ehiguese, who is also the CEO of Mediacraft Limited, a PR agency in Lagos, said the Minister’s actions confirmed the insatiable appetite of Nigerian public office holders for “foreign is better” items. He recalled that a similar step was taken by Trade and Investment Minister, Okechuknwu Enelamah, who engaged the services of the same firm to manage the “Ease of Doing Business” campaign of the Federal Government without any competitive bid involving Nigerian PR firms.
higuese insisted that Nigerian PR firms had the competence and understanding of Nigerian issues to manage the campaign, adding that Adeosun’s action was a further depletion of Nigeria’s foreign resources at a time when the economy was in the recovery room.
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