The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has emphasised the importance of media and information literacy for public officials to combat fake news and misinformation.
Speaking at the second Spokespersons Summit organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) in collaboration with the ministry in Abuja on Tuesday, Idris noted that the ability to decipher, analyze, and evaluate information is crucial in today’s media-saturated world.
The minister attributed the spread of fake news and misinformation to a lack of media literacy, which can lead to public officials being misled by falsehoods and biased narratives.
He stressed that media literacy is essential for public officials to make informed decisions and engage with media content responsibly.
The ministry is working towards establishing the UNESCO Media Information Literacy (MIL) Institute, the first of its kind globally, at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Abuja.
“In fact, I have just returned from Paris, France where I held a meeting with senior UNESCO officials, in which the impending take-off of the Institute featured prominently,” he stated.
Idris equally stated that his ministry, last year, succeeded in the caderisation of Public Relations in the Federal Civil Service in order to deepen professional practice and improve the quality of engagement in the delivery of public communication.
“What this means is that Public Relations has now been designated as a standalone cadre in the Federal Civil Service, with effect from December 2023, and that, what used to be known as the Information Officer Cadre has now been re-designated to ‘Information and Public Relations Officer Cadre’, and ‘Executive Officer (Information and Public Relations)’. Let me add that the NIPR was a key advocate in achieving this enhanced recognition that Public Relations now enjoys within the Federal Civil Service,” he said.
Idris reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to free speech and responsible creative expression, aiming to broaden Nigeria’s media ecosystem and grow economic opportunities.
He urged public officials to equip themselves with media literacy skills to effectively evaluate news articles, identify biases, and distinguish between accurate and misleading content.
