About the Ministry

BRIEF OVERVIEW 0F THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

The Ministry of Information has its core mandate of information dissemination to the public through the formulation and implementation of effective publicity strategies that involve the use of various means of communications.

MANDATE

• It is charged with the responsibility of representing the State at the National Council of Information (NCI).
• It advises with the responsibility of Informing, educating, and entertaining the public and keeping vital records of Government events.
• It is charged with spreading Government activities and programmes to the public.
• Generation and implementation of effective publicity for the State Government.
• It is charged with printing all Government publications and classified documents viz: – State Gazette court edict, Store regulation, Diary Revenue receipt, Driver and vehicle license, Store regulation payment vouchers, and very many other Governmental Printings.
• It is charged with the responsibilities on photograph and video coverage of Government activities.
• It is charged with the responsibility of advising the State Government on policy matters in visual Arts.
• It supervises and regulates the activities of its Parastatals.
• It co-ordinates the media activities of the Government Ministries, agencies and parastatals.
• It strategizes effective information dissemination to the society.
• Obtaining feedbacks on Government programmes and policies.
• It serves as a ‘think tank’ on matters relating to development and public affairs.

The Ministry Supervises Two Parastatals

1. Kogi state broadcasting corporation (Radio Kogi)
2. Kogi state Newspaper corporation (The Graphic Newspaper)

The Ministry of Information Is Made Of Eight Departments, Namely

1. Department of Admin and Finance
2. Department of Information Services
3. Department of Research, Planning and Documentation.
4. Department of Kogi State Digital and Printing Services.
5. Department of Graphic Arts
6. Department of News and Publication.
7. Department of films and Archives.

The Staff of the Ministry of information are precisely 120 including the Honorable Commissioner and Permanent Secretary.

The Ministry is located at the new secretariat complex at the last flour (from Room 303 to Room 317) which is grossly inadequate for our staff.

• Today, the Ministry of Information and Communications has beefed up to incorporate the widely accepted ICT in meeting up with its new and additional mandate and responsibility.
• It is a fact and an indisputable truism that the activities, impacts and strives of the Ministry, which was hitherto seemingly “sleepy” have come alive, radiating in, around and beyond the State, thus the Ministry has played its role well as manager of the state information sector’.
• Conscious of the importance of the Website, the ministry upgraded the State’s website to an enviable standard among the comity of states in the country. The efficient management of the site has enabled the State meet up with the needed DLIs during 2018/2019 SFTAS IVA.
• The Ministry also set-up a committee to fashion out the Roadmap for ICT and digital economy renaissance in the State. The Committee is still working on the document.
• In tandem with her continuous determination of the State Government to deploy ICT mechanism for development and keeping the staff competent at the task, the Ministry organised a free online digital skills training for the State Information Officers and Reporters in the State Radio Corporation and ‘The Graphic’ Newspaper. The free tuition and certificated course covered relevant contents to improve the skills of the officers on contents development, social media optimisation and management, marketing and digital analytics among others.
• The Ministry designed and launched an online directory known as Confluence Business Directory. Confluence Business Directory otherwise known as cbdkogi is a unique platform designed exclusively to connect all businesses to the world. It gives local, national, and international business exposure. It is the first of its kind by any State Government in the Country today.
• The Ministry also came up with a debutant magazine called Doing More Magazine. The magazine showcases the giant strides of the GYB administration.
• The Ministry has also carried out the repositioning of the parastatals under the Information and Communications Ministry for optimal performance. For instance, the establishment of e-graphic for the first time in the history of the publishing company is a great surge to the output of the corporation.
• It is on record that the corporation in the past had solely produced the analogue weekly hardcopy with little or no success in news timeliness and comprehensive circulation. At some point, the weekly newspaper barely made two editions in a month and the corporation was at the verge of folding up for the paucity of funds until the intervention of the ministry.
• Also worthy of note among the achievements of the Ministry was the revamping of the Government Printing Press, thus making it commercially viable in a bid to meet up with the State Government’s revenue drive for rapid development of the State.
• The State Printing Press has been strengthened with the machines overhauled. It has started the printing of ‘The Graphic’ newspaper. Presently, The Graphic is not only on stand every week but has been able to come out with its online edition. The corporation is now at its best in the world of highly competitive e-paper news reportage and publication.
• The Press printed both sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the 2019 Local Government Elections in the State.
• For the State to run an all-inclusive government, the ministry under the watch of Evang. Fanwo also launched a novel radio programme tagged “State of Kogi,” an audience radio interactive programme. This has been a great avenue for interaction between the government and the people. It has also gone a long way to cement a robust relationship between the government and the people of the State.
• In the same vein, a periodic “Twitter” interaction between government officials and the people has been launched to promote accountability in the State. Through this avenue, the public do ask questions with prompt responses from public officers. This programme has further bridged the gap between the government and its people.
• Furthermore, the Kogi State Open Governance and Accountability Systems (KOGAS), an online application with the same motive of ensuring accountability has been launched. The platform is available and open to all Kogites as a forum for scoring each sector of the State based on its performance. The first innovation of its kind in the country, the platform will fast track effective feedback mechanism for government and promote efficient service delivery to the people.
• Projecting the State Government and the people of the State positively remains a cardinal obligation of the Ministry with the ” INVEST IN KOGI” campaign; a programme geared towards making the state attractive and enticing for both foreign and local investors. “INVEST IN KOGI” is to showcase the tourist potentials of the State and to guide would-be investors on how best to liaise with the State and go about their businesses unhindered.
• The State Broadcasting Corporation has been strengthened to meet up with modern broadcasting. People orientated programmes have been put in place and efforts are being intensified to launch a 24/7 online platform for the organisation.
• In the quest to sell the noble objectives of the present administration to the younger generation, the Ministry promoted a new drive for the resuscitation of the Press and Information Clubs in Kogi Schools. The Commissioner personally visited some of the schools to give moral support and encouragement to the students. By this effort, the Information and Communications Ministry has done a good job in bringing back the cultural values of the people, reorientating the younger generation on the need to imbibe good conducts.
• Similarly, conscious of the menace of drug abuse and its negative effects on the populace, the Ministry under Fanwo launched a “Drug Abuse Whistle-blower Policy” in collaboration with the state command of NDLEA. This initiative has been fruitful. The State Directorate of NDLEA reported that the step has helped to stem cases of drug abuse. The state-owned media are being used to air series of jingles and other forms of campaign messages against the use of illicit drugs at no cost. To drive home the war against drug abuse objectives, the Commissioner directed the management of the state-owned media to alot one hour of radio transmission and a top corner advert in ‘The Graphic’ newspaper for the campaign against incessant use of illicit drugs. The same campaign was carried to tertiary institutions in the State. At the Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja where the Ministry joined efforts with the Institution in the fight against drug abuse, Hon. Fanwo commended the management for the numerous development programmes made available for students to enhance their productivity.