FIC Report (Nasarawa State) – The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has conferred on Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, the patronship of the reputation-building Institute.
NIPR, founded in 1963 in Nigeria, is the sole regulator of Public Relations practice in country and supervised by the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
Speaking during an investiture ceremony in Abuja, President/Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute, Dr. Ike Neliaku, said according to the Act which establishes the NIPR, state governors are conferred and invested as patrons of their respective states, positing that the Institute prides itself to establish the first-ever University of Public Relations in the world sited in Gudi, Akwanga, Nasarawa State in collaboration with the Sule-led government.
Neliaku said the educational institution when completed would be founded on the core mandates of enhancing education, strengthening constructive communication, relations and revamping leadership in defining the path of the next future.
He recalled that in 2024, an independent survey was conducted by the Reputation Perception Services which scored Nasarawa State 30.4 in governance performance, adding that two years later, a new survey independently conducted by same organization saw rated the state 83.6 in governance performance and perception in major areas such as leadership, social equity, culture, credibility and innovation.
He explained that Governor Sule is the first governor, in the Institute’s history, to be conferred as a fellow of the NIPR and a patron, commending his leadership style and technocratic innovations in reshaping the state’s economy to be one of Nigeria’s choicest investment frontiers.
In his remarks, Governor Sule expressed appreciation to the Institute for contributing significantly to the success limelight of his administration, maintaining that the establishment of the public relations university in the state was a decision to make the state a global hub for leadership administration, education and to build a virile socio-economic perception for the north-central state.
He asserted that six billion Naira was already invested into the building of the university facilities due to its relevance to local and international professionals, scholars and researchers, clarifying that several states such as Lagos and Kaduna also jostled for the siting of the institution, secured due to Nasarawa’s quick response in establishment proposal, land allocation and funding.
He noted that the NIPR had instilled a reputation discipline in him which reawakened his policy direction to focus largely on directly impactful governance areas.
Sule indicated interest in hosting the over three thousand participants of the World Public Relations Forum who would congregate in Abuja and Nasarawa by November this year.
Presenting a proposal on the governor’s patronship, Chairman of Nasarawa NIPR, Compt. Joseph Attah (Rtd), highlighted Sule’s achievements in national integration for development, consistent support and collaboration with the NIPR, urging the Governing Council to consider the governor for the privileged position.
Meanwhile, the Nasarawa governor was decorated by the Institute’s President/Chairman of the Governing Council in company of the Institute’s Vice President, Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura and members of the Governing Council.
The event was attended by Dr. Faisal Shuaib, a frontline gubernatorial aspirant in the Nasarawa State and former Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency amongst others.
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