By AbdulRaheem Aodu
Kaduna
House of Representatives’ Committee on Information and National Orientation and the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation have decried the dilapidated state of the National Institute for Public Information (NIPI) in Kaduna.
The Permanent Secretary, Deaconess Grace Isu Gekpe, said the Institute, which was established in 1976 to train professionals in public information and public relations, “is in a sorry state and in dire need of intervention to reposition it and enable it serve the purpose for which it was established.’
On his part, the Chairman, Committee on Information and National Orientation, Hon. Odebunmi Olusegun, said rehabilitation of the Institute would be on the front burner in 2018 to make it more functional.
Olusegun, who lamented the dilapidated state of structures and facilities at the Institute, as well as the obsolete state of its equipment, noted that “maintenance culture in Nigeria is very poor,” adding that the House of Representatives would capture the rehabilitation of the National Institute in the 2018 budget.
“The infrastructure here is adequate if given the required maintenance. I never knew we have such training facility here until I entered the Institute. What we have here if rehabilitated and well managed will serve our public information and public relations officers well in providing them with training,” he said.
He noted that, the House of Representatives will consider the rehabilitation and repositioning of the Institute next year to enable it serve its purpose effectively and efficiently.
The permanent secretary, who attended a three-month course at the Institute in the 1980s, expressed her nostalgic feelings of the beautiful, serene atmosphere and ambience of NIPI.
She regretted that the Institute was now in a shambles and a shadow of its former self, and promised to inform the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, about the state of the Institute for it to be given a facelift.
According to her, the ministry will also consider public private partnership (PPP) in its efforts to return the Institute to its glorious past.
The Institute was established in 1976 to provide training for media, advertisement and public relations practitioners in information and other related areas.
