LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), has said that Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Bola Tinubu, is not qualified for the job of a spokesperson as he is not a certified member of the institute.
This is as the institute also threatened to take legal action against public and private organisations that failed to appoint public relations professionals as spokespersons.
Speaking with PRNigeria, the newly elected governing council members of the institute, under the leadership of Dr. Ike Neliaku, disclosed that “Mr Ngelale, without the basic knowledge and requisite training on PR, is ordinarily not ‘fit’ to hold the exalted position he now occupies in the Tinubu Presidency.
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“We have checked our records and membership register, and we could not find Ajuri Ngelale in the list. One can be a good writer, broadcaster or journalist, but there are set parameters of knowledge a communicator needs to acquire, including qualification, before he/she can practice Public Relations in Nigeria.
“The law establishing NIPR provides laid-down rules about appointing spokespersons, which also makes it a criminal offence for anybody to practice Public Relations by whatever name without certification by the Institute.
“In fact, the NIPR act stipulates punishment for illegal practice including imprisonment, fine, or both,” said one of the governing council members further stated.
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This discovery came after the Presidential spokesperson recently made some controversial statements claiming Tinubu was the first African leader to ring the bell at the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), during his visit to New York, United States.
Ngelale had also claimed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had lifted the visa ban on Nigerians after a bilateral meeting between President Tinubu and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Established in 1963 as the professional body of qualified Public Relations Practitioners, NIPR attained charter status in 1990 with Decree 16 (now Act of the National Assembly).
The law makes the practice of Public Relations illegal, under any title, in Nigeria without NIPR certification.