The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, resumed duty at Radio House, Headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, assuring Nigerians that he would disseminate the truth about government policies and programmes. He spoke at an event organized to welcome him and the Ministers of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy and that of Tourism, at the National Press Centre, Abuja.
‘‘For me, I am actually a reporter reporting for duty, and I meant it with every sense of the word. The President has asked me to come and tell you, this is a brand new ministry of Information and National Orientation. This is a ministry that is set to be re positioned like never before. I have been in the industry for nearly three decades and I should know where the shoe pinches.
Today is not for policy announcement but a day to familiarize ourselves with all the stakeholders in the ministry.
‘‘We are poised to ensure that the Renewed Hope of Mr President gets serious traction. Mr. President has sent me to come and say it the way it is, Mr. President didnt send me to come and lie, and this is the new covenant with you and Nigerians.
We are going to say it as it is, Mr. President is somebody who is truthful, honest, transparent, he has said that when we come, we should own up where there are mistakes, we should own up where we erred, we should not be shy to say, No this is wrong and we are going to correct it. The ministry will be at the core of its job, the job of info dissemination.’’
To the media, he said, he charged them to open their minds and hearts, as the ministry is going to roll out its plans for media in the next few days.
‘’The ministry is going to be open, transparent and accountable to Nigerians. There will be no hold back here, everything you want to know, you will get to know. Please ask your question, we will let you know, if you don’t understand, go and seek clarification. If we are wrong we will apologise. We must ensure that transparency is the watch word in this ministry. Join us in helping Mr President in building enduring legacy for our dear nation, that why we are here,’’ he added.
We’re going to export Nigeria to outside world – Musawa
In her own remarks, the new minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Barr. Musa Hanatu Musawa promised to use her ministry to export Nigeria to the world.
‘’Whatever we will do, we are going to do it together to achieve greatness. Nigeria stands on the precipice of greatness.
As an artist and song writer, I understand the passion that is required to move the ministry forward. We are going to do a number of things to change the trajectory. We are going to export Nigeria to outside world, and make Nigeria the greatest nation on earth, in a way that will change the narrative.
‘’Culture is our identity, we are going to sell to the world. The unity our forefathers found, Azikiwe, Awolowo and Tafa Balewa bequeathed we are going to use this ministry to resuscitate and grow the economy. We are going to roll out action plan that will not just satisfy all stakeholders, but actualize our mandate for President Tinubu. Our guiding principles will be innovation, preservation, empowerment, corporation, collaboration.’’
Tourism’s going to be Number one revenue generation source in Nigeria – Lola Ade-John
Also in her own remarks, the minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John promised to make tourism number one revenue generation in Nigeria.
‘’Tourism is about marketing and selling. We are going to engage everybody to sell the country, particularly the ministry of information. we need to collaborate with our sister ministries to achieve our mandate. Revenue from oil industry has dropped, there is a major emphasis on revenue generation. Tourism is going to be number one revenue generation in Nigeria both in naira and foreign exchange, as the country’s major economic enabler.
‘’We can no longer continue to depend on oil and gas but explore the potentials in tourism to bolster our revenue generation base of the nation,’’ she added.
Earlier, the permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mrs. Ngozi Onwudiwe, assured the three ministers of her cooperation.
‘’We are behind you solidly to realise whatever mandate the President has set for you. We will work with to achieve your mandate. This ministry had gone through series of merger and splitting. Your jobs are enormous but we will be there for you to actualise your mandate.
‘’’We are solidly behind you to realise whatever mandate the President has set for you. We will work you that Nigeria is very rich in culture and with arrays of Directors in various agencies, they form your foot soldiers that will help you navigate through the ministry.’’
End.
