Obiano charges Police on good conduct
Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has charged the police personnel to always promote the good image of the Nigeria Police Force by their relationship with the public.
Governor Obiano, who described the Police Force as the hope of the common man, urged them to exercise their primary role, which entails protection of lives and properties.
Governor Obiano disclosed this during a 4 -Day Capacity Building for Police Public Relations Officers, held at Golden Tulip Hotels, Awka.
Theme was “Public Relations Strategies and Communication skills”.
The ceremony which was organised by the Nigerian Police, attracted high profiled police officers, including the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, represented by the AIG Zone 9, Baba Tijani.
Declaring the function open, Governor Obiano restated his resolve to continue his unprecedented partnership with the police, which according to him, had yielded positive results.
The Inspector General of Police (IGR), Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, represented by the AIG Zone 9, Baba Tijani, stated that the essence of the event was to significantly broaden the capacity of the participant officers and as well sharpen their skills for optimal performance.
He noted that the performance was centred on bridging the gap between the police and members of the public and enhancing a people-friendly and community-driven police force.
“It is also my expectation that you shall at the end of this programme imbibe the concept and practice of Strategic Information Management, and develop strong critical thinking ability needed to dissect and manage complex Public Relations challenges in the most professional manner.
“All these considerations make it imperative that we continually equip the Police Public Relations Officers with necessary skills and knowledge to efficiently engage the public and effectively manage the image and perceptions about the force,” Tijani stated.
The National President, Nigerian Union of Journalists, Comrade Christopher Isiguzo, called for involvement of journalists in the next police programme.
“This framework seeks to x-ray the relationship between the job of the Nigerian Police and that of the media on one hand; the relationship between the police and the media on the other hand and how these network of relationships can be exploited to preserve the Freedom of the Press in general and ensure the safety of journalists as they discharge their lawful duties.
“This is pertinent, because, freedom of expression ranks amongst the most important of the inalienable rights of man. However, Freedom of the Press, though very important to democracy, has unfortunately been subsumed under the Right to Freedom of Expression in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The purpose of this framework is to provide an article of cooperation and facilitate cooperation between the parties in the area of the safety of journalists, enhance Press Freedom and deepen democracy, accountability, transparency and greater societal responsibility,” Isiguzo pointed.
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Also speaking, National President, Nigerian Institute of Public Relation, NIPR, Comrade Malam Mukhtar Sirajo, harped on the need to ensure that public relation officers were professionals with a certificate from NIPR.
Others who attended were the Commissioner of Police Anambra State Police Command, CP John B. Abang, PPROs from different states, and heads of other sister agencies in the state.
