Public Relations: No more room for quackery – NIPR President
The newly installed President and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Dr. Ike Neliaku has expressed its (NIPR) determination to kick quacks and unqualified persons from the profession.
Dr. Neliaku who stated shortly after taking over the NIPR leadership role at the weekend in Abuja warned that unregistered persons would no longer be allowed to practice the profession at both the public and private sectors.
He said: “For our colleagues and those who are masquerading as public relations practitioners alias quacks, I say that quacks or quackery in our profession no longer exists. What do I mean? The time is over. We are taking our profession back.
“It is goodbye to quackery and we are going to pursue them, and we are going to do everything possible to ensure that our breakfast is not eaten by those where we passed the night. We must take this issue seriously. This industry must be sanitized.
“If you know that you are practicing as a PR expert in whatever form, either you call yourself corporate affairs person or PR person, whatever it is, it is all under public relations and that is the law. We are going to implement this law to the latter with the support of the Federal Government that gave us this law”, he stated.
Dr. Neliaku there said those “who have existed in the fringes now have the opportunity to come to the centre and become part and parcel of this beautiful profession but if they prefer to remain where they are and think they can practice, it is over and it is no longer going to happen”.
He noted that NIPR members have to “join hands and rebuild the reputation of Nigeria”, adding that “PR practitioners are brand managers, reputation builders and perception managers”.
Earlier, speaking during the handover ceremony, NIPR immediate past president, Malam Mukhtar Sirajo noted that the institute in the past few years has taken giant strides to reposition the public relations profession in the country.
While congratulating his successor, he expressed confidence that the new council members have the capacity to achieve more during their time than he did.
Credit: Vanguard
