FG pledges to restore trust in public communication

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, says government will continue to restore trust in public communication through honest, sincere, patriotic and purposeful communication strategy.

Idris stated this in an interview on the sideline of the 2025 Nigeria Excellence Award in Public Service (NEAPS) and Dinner on Sunday night in Abuja.

The event was organised by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) in collaboration with The Best Strategic Media.

Idris, who was also an awardee, said the reward for hardworking was more; adding that the award would motivate him, the Ministry, Departments and Agencies to do more in the service to the country.

Our correspondent reports that the NEAPS award to Idris makes it the second award he clinched within five days, the first being the Business Day Award for Excellence in Public Service on Dec.3.

“This is a country that all of us love; recognising our contribution to nation building is heartwarming and will make us to do even more for our country, people democracy itself.

“We are supposed to shape communication for development, for the good and progress of our country. This is the mandate given to me by President BolaTinubu.

“We thank him for the opportunity given to us to serve our fatherland. We will continue to restore trust in public communication. This is what I think is the major challenge.

“We want to also look at ways and means of also fighting fake news, disinformation and misinformation, because, these are two very dangerous issues that are living with us.

“They can make or mar a society/community. Therefore we will continue to work hard to ensure that Nigerians are informed properly in accordance with what the rules and regulations are,” Idris said.

He further explained that he is not alone in the success story, adding that it is indeed all the heads of agencies, directors and staff of the ministry that joined hands to ensure the repositioning of the information and communication sector.

According to him, that is what they are doing for the country.

“I feel happy in the trajectory we have taken and I do hope that by the time we get this done, we will have made a significant contribution in that direction.

“This means the Renewed Hope Agenda of Tinubu is succeeding. So if people are happy in what you do, of course it is expected that they will recognise you. We feel happy that this has been done.

“Nigerians should remain united. Nigeria should be that country that has the prosperity that Mr President has promised when he took office.

“What we are saying is that we don’t have any other place to go. This is our country. We should be proud to be here and must join hands in ensuring that we move it forward.

“This is what the president is always asking for. Let’s come together. You have to believe in your country. The country is greater than everyone.

“And all of us will have to come together to ensure that we do what is best for our country, because this is the only place we have,” Idris reiterated

Our correspondent reports that personalities that also got awards include governors of Bauch, Zamfara, Kogi, Enugu, and Ministers of Aviation, Women Affairs and many others.