Minister of information and national orientation Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi says the ministry under his watch will restore trust to government communication in Nigeria.
“One of my missions is to return that trust in government communication going forward,” he said.
The minister stated this Wednesday during a tour of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria ( FRCN), Voice of Nigeria ( VON) and News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, “over the years, trust and confidence has gradually gone away especially for leaders and those in government.”
“We have reached a point where Nigerians no longer believe what their leaders tell them and so the starting point for me is to restore that confidence . To restore the believability of government communication ” he said.
The minister commended their initiatives to modernize their operations to digital, pledging to support them achieve their full potentials as public information dissemination platforms.
Malagi also urged them to uphold and support the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“I know modernisation is key to your operations here and operation of every platform of news gathering business. We will pay attention to modernisation that is happening all over the world in the industry.
“We will support you to continue to fullfil your role of providing timely and high quality news to traditional, electronic and digital media in Nigeria and across the world.
“On your part, you also have the responsibility to the country and to propagate the ideals and achievements of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration as encapsulated in the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda as I have always said, is largely domiciled in the ministry of information and national orientation. We see ourselves as the custodians of the Renewed Hope Agenda and we use these platforms that we have in the ministry to propagate the ideals of the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
Speaking further, he charged them to be active in the online and social media space in order to curtail nonprofessionals parading themselves as news outlets.
This he said, will check the menace of fake news and misinformation that is prevalent in the digital space.
“Your exposure in the digital media service should be deepened. It is only when credible online platforms give information that the non proffetionals ones that are parading themselves as news outlets will not have any value.
“If you leave the space for people that are not trained, mischievous people will continue to parade fake news and trust in what you do as credible media organisation will be eroded.”
He added that this can only be achieved if government information managers and mediums are truthful, honest and also patriotic about the cause of Nigeria.
“So we need to do alot to stifle them out of the space of telling lies . Always tell truth. No matter how sweet or unsweet it is, trust will return. “
Malagi also charged them to lead the mandate of national re-orientation given to the ministry by President Tinubu.
“It is not for nothing that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu christened this ministry, ministry of information and national orientation.
“National orientation that Mr President has now added has given the ministry a new mandate and that mandate is to tell Nigerians to retrace their step and rededicate ourselves towards building a nation of our choice.
“Honest and credible information is the bedrock of any united country. It is even more so for a very complex and diverse country like Nigeria with so many fault lines. But I think our diversity is not to throw us into confusion, but should be harnessed for progress and development,” he said.
