Asaba – A former Minister of Information and Culture, Prof. Sam Oyovbaire, has advised information managers in all tiers of government to be proactive in performing their duties.

Oyovbaire gave the advice on Thursday at the opening of the technical session of the 46th meeting of the National Council of Information holding in Asaba.

He said that the internet and new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) had made the dissemination of information on issues and events almost instantaneous.

He said because of this, it had become necessary for government information managers to communicate government decisions and policies to the public as early as possible.

“We should always endeavour to tell the truth as effectively as possible and let the civil society know what the government is doing even when the policy appears to be harsh.”

The former minister said that the civil society should not be the first to interpret government policies and decisions before they were explained to the public.

Oyovbaire further called for adequate funding of the information ministry to enable it to discharge its duties effectively.

In an address, Mrs Ayotunde Adesugba, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, said information managers should fashion out strategies to exploit, harness and take advantage of the social media.

“This must be done at all tiers of government in a coordinated, effective and result-oriented manner.”

She said that the theme of this year’s meeting which is “Leveraging on Information and Digital Technology to Sustain the Change Agenda of Government,” was apt and timely.

“We are well aware that as information managers, we have a crucial role to play in communicating and publicizing the Change Agenda and other policy initiatives of government aimed at transforming the nation.”

The Delta Commissioner for Information, Mr Patrick Uka, also emphasised the need for information managers to take advantage of the social media to disseminate information about government programmes.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information, ALhaji Lai Mohammed, will officially declare the three-day meeting open Friday.