USAID State2state trains Bauchi Information Officers on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
BY UZAIRU DAUDA BUNGA:
The Bauchi State Government has assured of its readiness to maintain its good image and integrity through using the Ministry of Information and Communication.
The Commissioner of the Ministry Comrade Usman Garba Danturaki, made this known at a three day workshop organized by State2state USAID supported project for the Information Officers on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) held in YEMIR Suit Bauchi.
Comrade Danturaki, said the ministry been the image maker of the State Government would do everything possible to maintain the good image of the state and promote policies and Programmes of the present administration led by Governor Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad for the benefit of all citinzery.
The Commissioner said, the State2state intervention for the ministry is the first of its kind to train the Information Officers to meet global best practices for their day to day activities.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information Dr Sule Adamu Madara, applauded State2state for coming to the aid of the State Government through the ministry, appreciated their efforts for various interventions across many sectors in the State.
He said, there will be no any progress without vital information as misinformation brings about rumour mangaring that portrays government policies in negative ways, hence the need to equip the Information Officers with modern ways of communication for the public to be better informed on the government policies.
On his part the Communication Specialist for USAID State2state projects, Israel Odiba, said the aimed of supporting Bauchi State ministry of Information is to ensure accountability, transparency and effectiveness that led to the the organizing the training to draft the Standard Operating Procedure as a guide to ease their activities.
The State2state Communication Specialist, urged the Commissioner ministry of Information to endorse the draft copy of the SOPs as a working document in the ministry for the benefit of the state.
Mr Israel Odiba, said the information officers are the image makers of their various Ministers, Departments and Agencies and Voice of the voiceless, which Standard Operating Procedure will equip them to carry out their duties deligently.
He said, when the IOs work by the SOPs their work would be better and easier for image making to be more effective and efficient, urged them to put what they have learnt into practice to become better information officers.
Earlier, the Director Information of the Ministry of Information and Communication, Alhaji Yakubu Mahmood Yero, described the workshop as apt, that will boost the moral of the Information Officers to understand fully their roles and responsibilities towards discharging their schedule of duties in line with best practices of Standard Operating Procedure to avoid overlapping function in their working places.
Alhaji Yakubu Mahmood Yero, encouraged the information officers to put the knowledge acquired into used, promised to appraise them on monthly, quarterly and annual basis by working hard to take the ministry of Information to greater heights.
He said the assessment of information officers would be based on merit where reward and punishment will be considered for better performance.
Some of the information officers interviewed, Ambassador Fatima Idris Danjuma, Hajiya A’isha Bamai and Ibrahim Sani commended State2state for the first initiative to better their work, promised to put knowledge acquired into practice to uplift the images of their various places of assignments in the State.
