Effective Communication with citizens by governments can prevent fake news -Fanwo

By Obansa Ibrahim, Lokoja

The Kogi State Commissioner of Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, has said that government at all levels and it’s agencies must be proactive in information dissemination, to curb fake news, disinformation and misinformation in the country.

The Commissioner stated this on Monday in Lokoja, during a two day training Workshop and capacity building for Staff of the state ministry of Information and Communications, with the Theme “Effective Information Management in the New Media Age.

Speaking further, the information Commissioner said “In communication there is no vacuum. You must be creative to create your own news , and if you don’t create your news, the people will create it for for you in a way that you will not like

“Our intention is to ensure that those who tell our story tell the story accurately, timely and with the best language. I want to assure you that we will continue to pay attention to your welfare.

Fanwo explained that the aim of the training was to equip information Officers to do their job effectively as government has invested hugely in the information sector.

The Commissioner said the workshop will go along way at curbing fake news, noting that the menace can damage the society hence the need to equip the information Officers.

He noted that government was committed to ensuring that the people are well informed about government policies and programmes, stressing that the core mandate of the ministry is sensitization which it is fulfilling.

“It is a good time to report kogi state. We have a governor who is making us very happy. we want to thank his excellency, the chief servant of our dear state, Alhaji usman ododo for paying a lot of attention to the information sector and ensuring that those who tell the story of kogi state are well trained to do so in the best way ; professionally and with all their hearts”

“We want to thank him for making it possible for mobilizing resources to make this a reality. This is just the first of many that Mr dahiru is going to be doing ; some other ones will not even happen in Lokoja here ; we will go out of lokoja for the training”. Fanwo noted.

According to the information Commissioner, Governor Ahmed Ododo is opening up sectors that were hitherto forgotten in the history of kogi State and does not want to suppress the voice of the people.

Fanwo thanked Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for giving adequate attention to the information sector and ensuring that those who tell the story of Kogi State are well trained to do their jobs effectively.

Earlier, the Resource Person, Majeed Dahiru noted that the traditional media is being challenged by the New media, hence the need to upscale the skills of information Officers to function well at this critical moment.

He noted that the training will build the capacity of the participants and enhance their reporting skills to effectively report government’s policies and programmes.

Also speaking, the Director General, Kogi State Broadcasting Corporation, Hajiya Nana-Hauwa Yusuf noted that the training will enable information officers to report the achievements of the State government accurately and timely, particularly amid the fake news about the success of government by naysayers.

Hajia Nana-Hauwa urged the participants to make the best use of the workshop to improve on their jobs by ensuring that government activities are not under reported.