By Our Correspondent
The Kano State Local Government Information Officers Forum has presented an Award of Excellence to the Honourable Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to effective information dissemination and staff development in the state.
Presenting the award on behalf of the 44 Local Government Information Officers across the state, the Chairman of the Forum, Malam Jamilu Mustapha Yakasai, said the gesture was in appreciation of the Commissioner’s tireless efforts in promoting professionalism and improving the welfare of information officers.
Malam Yakasai commended Comrade Waiya for his numerous interventions, including the organization of training and retraining programmes, as well as government sponsorship of information officers to attend the National Conference of the Association of Local Government Information Officers held in Abuja an experience which, according to him, greatly boosted their morale and afforded them the opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues from across the country.
Receiving the award, the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, expressed profound appreciation to the Forum for the honour and recognition.
He assured that the Ministry, in collaboration with relevant institutions and with the continued support of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, will sustain its efforts in organizing more capacity-building programmes for information officers to acquire advanced professional skills that will ensure the effective dissemination of information on all government programmes and activities.
Comrade Waiya also commended the Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, for his unwavering support to the Ministry through the sponsorship of various training workshops for Information Officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as Local Government Information Officers. He emphasized that the Governor’s commitment to human capital development has been instrumental in enhancing professionalism and efficiency in public information management across the state.
The Commissioner, who noted the remarkable improvement in the performance of Information Officers across the 44 Local Government Areas, urged them to maintain cordial working relationships with local government staff, traditional rulers, security agencies, community members, and other stakeholders to enhance effective service delivery.
“Prove your effectiveness in your place of work by being relevant, committed, and dedicated,” the Commissioner advised.
In his opening remarks, the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alhaji Inuwa Idris Yakasai, highlighted some of the achievements recorded under the leadership of Comrade Waiya, including the registration of Information Officers and other staff of the Ministry with professional bodies such as the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), a development that has significantly enhanced their professional standing.
Also speaking, the Director of Public Enlightenment, Alhaji Idris Zakariya’u, commended the Commissioner for initiating regular capacity-building workshops for Information Officers and introducing a monthly reward scheme to recognize outstanding performance. Under the scheme, the best-performing Information Officer receives N100,000, the second-best N60,000, and the third-best N40,000.
At the climax of the event, the Commissioner presented cash gifts to winners of the September performance assessment, where Adamu Iliyasu, the Information Officer of Tarauni Local Government, emerged first and received N100,000; Sani Muhammad, the Information Officer of Makoda Local Government, came second with N60,000; while Lubabatu Sani, the Information Officer of Rimin Gado Local Government, took the third position and received N40,000.
