Benue govt, VON to partner ILDC on capacity building

The Benue State government has expressed its readiness to partner with Institute for Leadership and Development Communication (ILDC) to build communication capacity of its workers.

Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, made this known at the induction ceremony of new members of ILDC in Abuja at the weekend.

Represented by his Special Assistant on Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Fidelis Unongo, the governor underscored the importance of effective communication to governance.

“On behalf of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, he said I should tell you that the state government will also key into this. Communication is key to everybody even the government.

“How we communicate our projects and what we do as a state to Benue indigenes and Nigerians, is very important,  we will key into this. We will talk with your organization to see how we can step this down to the state government especially those that are in charge of handling our state communication, so that we can communicate better. You have the state government support,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mallam Jibrin Baba Ndace, also emphasized the centrality of communication to national development and pledged VON’s collaboration with the Institute.

“It’s not enough to say I have a degree. What answer are you bringing to the table? What is your niche? You go to an interview, you may have all the qualifications, but you look at how you present it. So, it’s important that we take what is happening here seriously and beyond the ground,” he said.

Ndace further said that VON would soon partner with ILDC for capacity building of its staff.

On his part, President and founder of the Institute, Associate Prof Desmond Okocha, said proper communication is key to bring about  desired development, adding that Africa needs home-grown solutions to its problems instead of depending on the western world.

“We have discovered from our findings that the repeated implementation and execution of the Eurocentric development model will never develop the African continent, because to copy is not equal to the original,” he said.

On the newly inducted members, the communication expert, said  about 20 inductees, which include fellows, members, and associates categories were inducted to the institute.

While calling on the government to invest massively on data to ensure right communication and prevent misinformation, Okocha said there is need for more transparency in governance especially in the area of publication and distribution of resources.

PlatinumPost reports that the induction ceremony, also witnessed  presentation of awards to nine Nigerians who have contributed in the innovation and other developmental areas in the society.