Admin l Wednesday, August 28, 2019
ABUJA, Nigeria – As part of efforts to reposition the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as a global company of excellence, Public Affairs Officers of the Corporation have been trained on the need for them to adopt proactive and predictive Public Relations Strategies in their management of information emanating from the nation’s oil and gas industry which is one of the cornerstone of the national economy.
In his opening remarks at the NNPC Group Public Affairs Division first Quarterly Interactive Session (GQIS), the Group General Manager, Ndu Ughamadu, described the petroleum sector as the heartbeat of the economy and implored participants to be dutiful and with sincerity of purpose address concerns of all stakeholders.
Ughamadu described the GQIS as a knowledge sharing gathering that would enable Public Affairs Officers to discharge their duties efficiently in alignment with the Corporation’s management agenda of Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE).
He stated that the session was also geared towards repositioning the image of the NNPC for the better, urging the participants to be passionate, courageous and professional in the discharge of their mandates.
The NNPC Spokesman implored participants to efficiently negotiate and manage the expectations of internal and external stakeholders, emphasizing the need for them to collaborate and cooperate with one another to boost the reputation of the NNPC in positive light.
Executive Director, Services, of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), Dr. Abdullahi Idris, who was the Guest Speaker at the event, posited that Public Affairs function was a strategic management function key to the resolution of crisis emanating from the various publics of the Corporation.
Dr. Idris averred that Public Affairs Officers were solution providers that must at all times employ proactive and predictive Public Relations strategies and not reactionary strategy, adding that their ability to dominate their environment would enable them function effectively in their various Strategic Business Units.
Speaking on the topic: Managing Information in the Oil and Gas Industry, Dr. Idris stated that Public Affairs Officers must imbibe the virtues of being confident, courageous and passionate about their onerous duties of promoting the image of the Corporation.
Participants were drawn from the various subsidiaries and relevant units of the Corporation. Highpoint of the interactive session was the presentation of NNPC souvenir to the Guest Speaker for his incisive and educative presentation.