Do not play second fiddle, take your pride of place,” Okang charge Information Officers

By: Uchino Amatey/Eyo Offiong/Kingsley Agim

Cross River State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Comrade Asu Okang, has charged all information officers in the Ministry to be alive to their responsibility of keeping the public abreast on all government activities in their various Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) and not to play second fiddle to quacks.

Comrade Okang who gave this charge at the inaugural meeting of all Information Officers at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Information, Calabar, stated that due to complacency on the part of Information Officers and failure to deploy digital skills, information dissemination has been left in the hands of non professionals.

According to him: “We have watched with some degree of disappointment at some of your performance as Information Officers in different MDAs. A few have been outstanding and others abysmal .You have overtime allowed your responsibilities to be taken over by social media trollers because you have refused to grow with the trend.  You are the professionals; but have allowed others to take over your beats.”

While urging Information Officers to move with digital trend of using the abundance of opportunities the social media offer for information dissemination, Okang said “In the midst of this competition it is important that you step up your game, do not play second fiddle. Take your pride of place as the number one Information Officers in your MDAs.”

The Commissioner further stated that, the Ministry of Information and Orientation is required to serve as the information bank of the State, hence, day-to-day activities of all MDAs should be reported to the Ministry. He added that, this new template for reportage is to ensure that information officers take a place of prominence in information delivery in their various beats.

He advised staff not to be distracted, but remain committed in their various MDAs as good ambassadors of the Ministry of Information, delivering on their mandate through effective, timely reportage of all government activities.

In her remarks, the State Director of Information, Mrs. Pauline Eba, charged the Information Officers to repay the Commissioner's effort of providing a conducive working environment, through massive on-going renovation work in the Ministry, upping the ante as information drivers of government policies, programmes, projects and deliverables to the governed.

Mrs. Eba assured the Commissioner of Information Officers' utmost support and promised not to renege on the to make the State proud in delivering on the Ministry's mandate.