The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations on Tuesday, 30 April 2019, inducted a hundred and seventy new members into the institute at the international Conference Centre, Area 10, Garki, Abuja.
The induction ceremony which had inductees and members drawn from various public and private organisations within the country, also had the Director of Fides Communications, Awka,Rev. Fr.(Dr.)Martin Anusi, who was inducted as an associate member.
Speaking during the induction ceremony, the President of the institute, Mukhtar Surajo said that NIPR was charged to make professionalism, integrity and excellence a paramount concern to all members, explaining that the institute was a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationship between organisations and its public. He however noted that the induction was to properly recognize and give certification to those who wanted to be practitioners in the field. Even so, he warned that the practice of public relations in whatever realm without proper certification and registration was criminal offence tantamount to punishment.
The chairman, NIPR Education advisory Board, charged new members to adhere strictly to the professional code and conduct that guides the institute and advised that they be good ambassadors of the institute in their various fields.
In his remarks, during an interview, the Fides Communications’ Director, Rev. Fr.Martin Anusi, commended the institute for their efforts to bring under one umbrella, practitioners in the field inor der to achieve professionalism, integrity and excellence. He went further to express that it was a unique experience for him, discovering that he was the only inductee from Anambra state and that the certification would give him the opportunity to fully champion the cause for fostering a positive image, conflict resolution and management, as well as identifying crisis and proffering possible solutions.
In their separate speeches, other inductees who spoke in an interview included Rotimi Wusu, Ikalone Udo, Oluwatoyin Oluwole and Makut Samuel Machan who described the induction as a dream come true for them and an opportunity to make better impact in the discharge of their duties. They advised other veterans in the field of communications who are yet to be members to register, as for them, the body makes them fully experts of public relations.
Oat swearing, signing and receiving of certificates by the Associates of NIPR formed the highpoints of the events.