—NIPR President
By Onwa Ekor
National President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr. Ike Neliaku, says he remains excited as the numerous projects embarked by the administration of Cross River governor, Prince Bassey Otu, are not endless, rather have timelines.
Neliaku stated this while fielding questions from newsmen at the premises of Cross River Newspaper Corporation, Calabar after a guided tour of some projects in the state, led by the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Erasmus Ekpang.
The National President who was accompanied by members of the Institute argued that the said projects are not elephant projects but have set date for commissioning with contractors not being owed.
“They are not projects that will start today till thy kingdom come, the projects are still on and have set a date when they will commission each of these projects and contractors are not being owed, so I am excited.
“The governor and his team are committed to projects that they have identified that they want to do,” Neliaku said, adding that, “for us as an Institute, these are the things we talk about that excites us because reputation is a very important asset for any leader and when we say that public relations is a leadership function, this is what we are talking about.”
He further remarked that “it is what you do that determines the quality of your leadership and it is the quality of your leadership that determines the way people perceive you and take you, as only these will determine whether a leader would be taken serious or not.”
On the Adiabo-Ikoneto road, the NIPR President lauded the governor for embarking on the said project which he affirmed, would cut the trip from Calabar to Uyo in Akwaibom by some hours, as well as act as a sociocultural connection of a people that used to be one.
Xraying the importance of the refurbished state digital library, Neliaku said he remains encouraged as it would address the reading culture challenges, even as the beauty of the environment would add to the aesthetics which Calabar is noted for.
“We are excited that because of the beauty of the environment, people are making use of the place as a place of research, a place of writing, a place of studies and I understand that the governor was even wise in redesigning the place and repackaging it such that there are now some events taking place in the environment.
On the premises of the state owned newspaper outfit, (publishers of Nigerian and Weekend Chronicle Newspapers) which was reduced to a ghost town during the EndSars protest, the NIPR President said he is elated with the transformation which is in line with the global communication trend.
“This will be a hub for management of information, a hub for coordinating views, a hub for a number of things and that is the height of creativity,” he assured.
Continuing, Neliaku clarified that his team did not come to sing anybody’s praise as it is not being paid, but doing what is right for the nation and guided by the tenets of the profession.
“We did our home work, if we are not satisfied with the feedback we got, we won’t come back because governors are meant to be patrons according to our Act, but not by force.
“If he is a patron whose value would not add to the reputation of the Institute, we avoid it and that is why most of them are not our patrons because if we say somebody is our patron, he becomes our brand and our icon and we carry him as we go, we don’t want to carry liabilities, we want to carry assets,” Neliaku stressed.
