The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has inducted 73 Public Relations Officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) into the institute, following an executive training programme.
Speaking at the ceremony, held on Friday night at the NIS National Headquarters in Abuja, the Comptroller General of the NIS, Kemi Nandap, who was represented by Deputy Comptroller General, Dr Franca Nwanneka, said the exercise formed part of the Service’s drive to be professionally respected and globally recognised.
She described Public Relations as a strategic function that goes beyond disseminating information to building public trust, protecting institutional reputation and strengthening stakeholder confidence.
According to her, the Service’s ongoing reforms in border governance, service delivery and migration management technology can only yield their intended impacts when properly communicated to the public.
She said, “As custodians of the Service’s image, you are expected to communicate with professionalism, integrity, accuracy, and responsibility. You must proactively tell the Service’s story, promote our achievements, manage crises effectively, and reinforce public confidence in our mandate”.
The Immigration boss charged the inductees to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during their training within their respective commands and formations, urging that their certification translate into improved performance and stronger engagement with stakeholders.
President of the NIPR, Dr Ike Neliaku, who admitted the officers into the institute, described the newly inducted personnel as the first point of contact for foreign visitors and, by extension, the country’s first image makers.
“No foreigner comes into Nigeria without passing through you. That means you are the first image makers for anybody coming into this country,” he said.
He added that public perception of the country is often shaped by how travellers are received at entry points.
Neliaku said the officers now carry a dual mandate as ambassadors of both the Service and the nation, expressing confidence that their training had equipped them with the requisite skills for professional conduct.
NIS Service Public Relations Officer, DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, said the training would strengthen the officers’ capacity, urging them to apply the lessons learnt in communicating the Service’s achievements, policies and operations with accuracy, integrity and responsibility.
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