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By Festus Ahon, ASABA 

Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, has told information officers of the Ministry to always have a thorough understanding of every issue before writing and publishing on it.

Aniagwu gave the charge during the opening of a one-day workshop on the workings of the state website and social media platforms for Public Relations Officers in the state, organised by the state Orientation Bureau in Asaba.

He said that as a reservoir of knowledge meant for public consumption, every Information Officer in the Ministry should critically understudy any issue for proper understanding before writing and publishing about it to forestall misleading the public, adding that every news item going out from the ministry must be authentic, reliable and verifiable at any given time.

Aniagwu commended the organisers of the workshop, saying that the training was apt and would build the capacity of the participants to effectively deliver in the discharge of their duties.

The Director-General of the state Orientation Bureau, Mr Eugene Uzum, who also spoke at the workshop, stressed the pivotal role of Information Officers in interfacing between the state government and the public.

Saying there was the urgent need for continuous retooling of the officers for effective information management and delivery in the state, Uzum said the workshop was an annual training programme to enhance the capacity of the officers in line with the global trend in Information Communication Technology, ICT approaches.

He maintained that its impacts had manifested greatly in the coordinated development of the contents of the state website with vital information from ministries and other agencies in the state, enjoining the participants to take the training serious and continue to justify it through effective discharge of their duties.

Declaring the workshop open, the Chairman of the occasion, Senior Special Assistant to the governor of the state on Civil Service Matters and retired Permanent Secretary from the state civil service, Sir Emmanuel Okafor said there was the need for information officers in the state not only to continue to build up their reservoir of knowledge by constantly studying the contents of the state website but also refreshing it with vital information from their respective ministries and agencies in the state.

He enjoined the participants to take advantage of the training by updating their knowledge in ICT and best practices in social media Networkings, urging them to bring the knowledge gained from the training to bear in the discharge of their duties.

Two resource persons, Messrs Greatpaul Okonkwor and  Paul Uche Monye took vital topics on “Social Media And Website Management” and “Digital Skills And Tools For The New Normal” respectively.

In a vote of thanks the Director of Orientation, Mrs Stella Macaulay, thanked Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for approving the training and commended the managerial astuteness of the Director-General, Mr Eugene Uzum and other personnel in the bureau for effectively and successfully organising the workshop.