Following the Federal Government’s recent signing of the Samoa agreement, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has established a technical committee to investigate and analyze its impact on the nation.

Ike Neliaku, President and Chairman of the NIPR Council, announced this on Thursday, 11, July 2024, during the agency’s Special Diamond Anniversary Induction for Media and Allied Practitioners in Abuja.

540 journalists and other media professionals from the Nigerian Television Authority, African Independent Television, News Agency of Nigeria, Voice of Nigeria, Channels TV, and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, among others, were admitted as new associate members of the NIPR. The effort assesses the agreement’s effects on the country’s reputation and citizens.

“The institute decided to set up a technical team of experts to study the Samoa agreement and come up with the reputation and perception implication of signing that agreement to Nigeria as a nation and to the citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Neliaku told journalists on Thursday, 11 June 3024. He emphasized the importance of the nation’s reputation.

“Our country’s reputation is very important to us. The perception of our country is important since our reputation is our most valuable asset. And this is what we have done. “The NIPR has organized a team of professionals, including lawyers, scientists, and professional engineers, to take on this project.

“NIPR has the largest body of expertise to accomplish this. We have lawyers, scientists, engineers, and so on. So we have everything we need to get the nation what they need at any given time,” Neliaku emphasised.

He stated that the committee will begin work immediately and will report back to the government on its findings. “As a result, our committee will begin work immediately and, by the end of the day, we will advise the government on the reputational ramifications of what has occurred. So, if we need to re-navigate, we will,” he said. The examination will center on three fundamental values: professional, reputational, and financial.

“We pry on three values, depending on the scenario. The first is professional worth. What professional value does the Samoa Agreement provide Nigeria? The second metric is reputational worth. The third aspect is financial worth,” he noted. Neliaku emphasized the significance of putting reputation ahead of financial gain, adding, “You see that financial value is number three and not number one because when your reputation is intact when your professionalism is valid, resources will flow naturally.”

The NIPR has also scheduled a series of interviews with former Ministers of Information. “I’d like to advise the Chairman of FCT, who also serves as the Director of Public Relations, that the institute has accepted your challenge to hold fireside conversations with all prior information ministers. “We want you to come and sit down and share with practitioners because listening to you this afternoon, you have shared your different perspectives,” according to him.

Read Also: Supreme Court Bars Federal Government from Releasing Allocations to LGs with Caretaker Committee