The media and publicity team of President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged support for the advocacy campaign of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), which is aimed at ensuring that the laws governing PR practice in Nigeria are complied with.
Receiving the PRCAN delegation led by its President, Mr John Ehiguese, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the government would ensure that PRCAN member-agencies became significant players in its communications drive.
He said that the Buhari administration was willing to seek and secure support from all stakeholders in the quest to rescue the country from national and economic decline occasioned by past errors.
Mr Adesina recalled the significant strides of PRCAN, particularly its thought leadership and capacity development programmes, as well as its determination to sanitise PR practice in Nigeria.
He promised that the administration would lend support to the initiatives of the association, which he believed would promote the goals of bridging the gap between the government and the populace.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, commended PRCAN for finding time to rub minds with the team, and pledged support for the association.
Ehiguese had earlier condoled with Adesina on the recent death of his sister, Professor Foluke Ogunleye, and prayed that God would forever stand by the family.
He expressed gratitude to Adesina for his past association with PRCAN, recalling that he was among the panellists during the inaugural PRCAN Gold Medal Lecture in 2013 and also a resource person at one of the PRCAN Masterclass workshops.
Ehiguese assured the government of the support of the association and its members in achieving its set objectives, while also urging that government should lead the crusade for the promotion of PR practice in Nigeria.
“It is about time the public sector ensured compliance with the laws enacted by government which are at the moment observed in the breach even by public institutions,” he said.
Others in the PRCAN delegation were the Vice President, Mr Muyiwa Akintunde, and the Assistant General Secretary, Mr Mike Nzeagwu.
PRCAN, the umbrella body of public relations consultancy firms operating in Nigeria, has as its primary objective the promotion of professional reputation management in Nigeria, in both the public and private sectors. It is also committed to maintaining professional standards and discipline among members and providing the right environment for the public and private sectors to thrive and meet their PR consultancy needs.
PRCAN is chartered by NIPR Bye Law No 3 of 1993, to cater to the interests of the consultancy side of PR practice in Nigeria. It currently has a membership of 51 firms providing services across at least 21 PR practice areas.
