It was another feather in the cap of the nation’s foremost road maintenance agency, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) as it  won the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations’ 2011 PR Golden Eagle Award as having best Public Relations Department  in public sector at its Awards Night last weekend.

The award which was conferred in recognition of FERMA’s continuous efforts at ensuring that Nigerian federal roads are in good motorable condition took place at the event centre of the Lagoon Restaurant, Lagos.

Besides carting away the best use of the public relations department in public/government sector category, FERMA was also among the nominees for the best use of PR on electronic media.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Managing Drector and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. G. C. Amuchi, the recipient assured that the Agency will do more in road maintenance across the country.

FERMA, the first Nigeria’s institutional mechanism for monitoring and maintaining all federal roads in the country was established in 2002 by Act No.7 enacted by the National Assembly and accented to by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Ever since its establishment, the agency has been working round the clock to live up to its billings which necessitated the award.

Speaking about the PR Golden Eagle Award, Barrister Jide Ologun, Chairman, NIPR, Lagos Chapter, stated as follows: “the Eagle is a bird of prey. It is undoubtedly the king of birds. Style, guile, focus, precision, agility, ability to nestle on a higher level than other creatures of identical plumage and high energy are traits that makes the Eagle most outstanding.

“A successful PR practitioner usually is a high flier, and the more successful one, is a big time achiever, just like the Eagle. For the first time in the history of the practice in Nigeria, we make an attempt to measure and define the metrics of professionalism and a distinguished practice.”

The award ceremony which attracted personalities from all walks of life also saw private individuals being conferred with various categories of awards. They include Akeem Bello who won a recognition award; Nkechi Ali Balogun, the most outstanding PR practitioner (female category); Mazi Mike Okereke, veteran award for excellence in PR practice and several others.

Also called upon to address the audience on the Freedom of Information Bill (FoI) was Abike Dabiri, who noted that what is most important is that the bill has been passed. “It has taken 10 years in the parliament. Now you have a law in place that would ensure transparency in government.

That would hold government accountable to the people. But the problem now is that we have not worked at implementing the law.

“The challenge now is how we use FoI Act to ensure good governance for the society. The challenge is not just for the media, but for the society at large. FoI Act is for every Nigerian to know what is going on. Democracy is here to stay, let use this profession, public relations to make Nigeria a better place.

I was in television, but I also want to be called a public relations practitioner because everybody is a PR person, in your home, jobs, in everything you do that is so important to you.