By Suleiman Yakubu

The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Niger State Council, Comrade Abu Nmodu, has described as erroneous the notion that NUJ members, particularly the Information Officers under the State Ministry of Information and Strategy, were not professionally qualified to practice as Public Relations Officers PRO, in government agencies and organisations.
Speaking during an interface with the officials of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Niger State, who paid him a courtesy visit at the IBB Pen House in Minna.
He said public relations practice was an aspect of journalism rooted in unbundled mass communication, stressing that the practice of journalism plays a dual role as an industrial and professional body.
"To a great extent, it does not mean that our members who are carrying out PR jobs are not qualified to do that, and I will disagree if somebody says they are not qualified to practice simply because they are not members of NIPR," the chairman stressed.
Comrade Abu Nmodu, who recounted a brief history of the NIPR, noted that the institute was established by decree No. 16 in 1990, which makes it different from the NUJ but has various areas of intersection, especially in the aspect of creating an image or a brand.
He noted that while NIPR members create images, the vehicle to make the images out to the public is journalism, with basic ethical codes for enhanced professionalism.
He described the code of ethics of journalism as broad and all-encompassing, including how to practice public relations, unlike the code of ethics of public relations that was specific to brand creation.
The chairman emphasised that PR practitioners must partner with their journalism counterparts in order to ventilate the window of image creation.
While assuring the officials of their unflinching support and partnership, the chairman advised the NIPR to strengthen their membership drive in symbiotic synergy with the NUJ.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mr. Akin Agbejule, said the aim of the visit was to seek collaboration between NUJ and the NIPR.
He informed the chairman of the activities of the institute, adding that the body was poised to open a new chapter in pursuing its professional objectives.
Agbejule solicited strategic and professional synergy for a robust exploration of PR contents in order to have a better delivery to society.
He further intimated the chairman that the institute will be holding its conference and annual general meeting (AGM) by next Tuesday, February 20, 2024, and therefore solicited the full participation of the NUJ members.
Highlights of the event included the presentation of souvenirs to the NIPR team, including the newly launched NUJ Niger Magazine, and a group photograph.

By Suleiman Yakubu

The Niger State Government has reiterated its commitment to providing affordable and qualitative healthcare services to the people of the state.
The state commissioner for primary healthcare, Dr. Ibrahim Dangana, stated this at the commissioning of the renovated Elizabeth Shaba Comprehensive Healthcare Centre facility in the Nyikangbe community of Chanchaga Local Government area.
The facility, which was given a facelift by the Chanchaga Local Government Council under the leadership of Hon. Aminu Yakubu Ladan, has a new laboratory building, an ultrascan machine, bedding, as well as other medical equipment and doctors' residences.
The Commissioner explained that the gesture by the Chanchaga Local Government Council chairman was in line with the mandate of the Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, to upgrade all primary healthcare facilities across the 274 wards of the state to bring healthcare services to the doorsteps of the people.
He said the ministry of primary healthcare and that of local government and chieftaincy affairs will provide support to the efforts of the council chairman to ensure that the services provided at the facility are optimal and meet the yearnings of the people, so as to improve maternal and child health services.
The commissioner called on the people of the community to take ownership of the facility and promised to establish a ward health development committee for the facility and to continue to provide all the necessary support to Chanchaga local government council in all the health facilities under it.
He equally appreciated the governor, Umaru Bago, for providing a conducive environment for the revitalization of primary healthcare services across the state and urging women to ensure that they make their children available for immunisation.
Earlier in his address, the Council Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government, Hon. Aminu Yakubu Ladan, said the gesture was part of the commitment of the council towards the revitalization of the health sector in the local government, particularly maternal and child health.
He disclosed that as part of the efforts of the council to improve the well-being of the people of the local government, it has provided motorised industrial boreholes at the Minna abattoir, improved the hygiene condition of the facility, provided scholarships to indigent health students, and also collaborated with health officials at the Minna General Hospital to provide services to some poor and vulnerable people while the council offset the cost monthly.
The chairman added that the Nyikangbe healthcare facility now has a scanning machine and some laboratory equipment with bed facilities, revealing that they have also engaged some indigenous doctors who will be attending to people three times a week.
He promised that the council would continue to seek the provision of good healthcare services for the people of the local government and solicited the support of the state government through the ministry of primary healthcare to provide more of such gestures to other parts of the local government area.
In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Hamidu Mu'azu Jantabo, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Abubakar Aliyu Mila, expressed delight over the gesture by the council chairman, saying the council had already taken the lead in actualizing the mandate of the governor to upgrade all primary healthcare facilities in the state.