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Use PR Experts, Agencies for Government Communication- Ojobo

Published

10 years ago

November 1, 2015

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This skill of the Director of Public Affairs of telecom industry regulator Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is not evident at first sight. Or second. Listen, however, to brilliant, Mr. Tony Ojobo speak on the work of the communication professional in Government and there is no doubt to the listerner that he understands hoops, loops and jumps.

Ojobo mounted the rostrum at the Breakfast Meeting of the Public Relations Consultants Association Thursday, October 29, 2015, at Adna Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos. He spoke of “Communication in the Public Sector: Issues, Challenges and Prospects.”

He talked to an eager audience. The environmental context made the presentation by the NCC spokesman one that aroused even keener interest by the professionals who have gathered every month to hear their colleagues on client side speak on issues in public relations, one of the fastest growing disciplines of the modern age.

Before Ojobo was Mr Kufre Ekanem of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr Emeka Oparah of Airtel Nigeria and Mr David Okeme of Unilever Nigeria.

A stellar cast in all respects and Mr Ojobo showed the shoes fit.

Thursday, October 29 was just three days into the earth-shaking news of the imposition of a fine of N1.04 trillion by his institution on telecom market leader MTN Nigeria Communications. The business world shivered. The international community paid attention. Moreover, the debates kicked in.

Upfront, Ojobo asserts that “political neutrality is a cornerstone of public sector communication.”

To communicate government or any MDA effectively, the professional has to manage masterfully various competing interests and agenda, much more so than his counterpart in the private sector.

He adds ruefully that “the politics of the day determines to a great extent the pattern of communication between government agencies.” Even more important in this balancing act, Ojobo states, is the caution: “You do not have to be political, but you must also be politically correct.”

Communication functions in the public sector to promote citizen participation in service delivery, to enable informed decision making and service design, and to engender accountability. The communication professional in government setting in Nigeria faces many challenges. They include balancing the demands of the oath of secrecy that civil servants swear and that the Colonial Government instituted many years ago versus those of the new Freedom of Information Act. “Secret files still exist since colonial times to avoid protests from the public. Is it virtue to keep corporate activities and documents secret? ” he asks.

Other challenges include “the inability of public agents to strike a balance between their loyalty to the government and the interest of the citizens” that “makes public officers shy away from telling the whole truth to avoid embarrassing the government”. There is possibility of spokespersons being misunderstood and classified as saboteurs; difficulty in determining what to share and what to keep secret; and critical and cynical reception of messages from the public sector by the media and citizens.

However, the tendency to protect MDAs from unnecessary exposure “often results in many speculations in the public domain, thus creating problems.”

Given this, are government agencies open to communication? Can they? Should they?

Ojobo is convinced that MDAs should not only be open to communication but embrace it because, as he avers, “Secrecy and non-transparency cause under-the-table dealings, making organisations prefer to be quiet on their actions.”

He notes that with FOI Act, there is no hiding place for public officers. Even so, the FOI Act has guidelines on the types of information Government Agencies and officials can release to the public. He shared many examples of effective and ineffective communication.

The NCC Communication Team handles the interface between the regulator and various stakeholders.

They include 150 million often vociferous subscribers to the different networks, the media, the network operators and the multiple players in that ecosystem, Government, and its various arms, et cetera.

The NCC, Ojobo discloses, had of necessity and choice operated a communication-centric and listening organisation. Telecommunication is ubiquitous and affects lives. It is a 24-hour service.

Challenges in the operating environment in Nigeria means there are issues on the side of customers, operators, governments.

The complaints come to NCC, which has opened its doors with a helpline, Subscribers Parliament and various platforms to listen and to address the challenges.

The above is the context for the work of the regulator. Before the recent bomb on MTN, subscribers often accused NCC of sharing bed space with those it regulates.

The networks on their part accused the institution of connivance with the market leader. As Walmart Corporation spokesman Dan Bartlett observed at the Global Public Relations Summit 2015, for NCC, as for Walmart, “there is a daily referendum on our reputation.”

Based on the experience of handling this challenging communication tasks, Ojobo recommends that Government agencies should not only have proper structured Communication Divisions but also must engage external counsel for their professional insights and detached perspective.

His declaration was music to the ears of the professional firms gathered under the PRCAN umbrella. The endorsement came against some interesting historical and contemporary background.

The government gave impetus to public relations and communication in Nigeria with the establishment of the Information Department of the Colonial Service in the 1940s. The leading organisations of the era, the private sector United African Company and the public sector Nigerian Railway Corporation, also followed suit.

Use of professional communication counsel declined over the years, though. A survey by PRCAN in 2014 showed that Governments at Federal, State and Local levels were the least in patronising PRCAN member-agencies who contrastingly played major roles in servicing no fewer than 60 major brands. NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria were some of the few Government organs that understood the imperative of effective professional communication.

Given that there are about 500 agencies of Government, poor and ineffective communication means that citizens do not know many of the agencies or what they do. Or how to seek redress for poor or no service. They are supposed to be accountable to us citizens.

So, what about MTN? Once again, Ojobo had to show dexterity in walking a tight rope. He was at the PRCAN event in his professional capacity as a key player in communication to speak to fellow professionals. He did not come to address an NCC press briefing on the sanction of MTN.

Ojobo would only volunteer the information that it had taken NCC since 2011 to get to the point of the humungous fine. He stressed the commitment of the regulator to maintaining the sanctity of the regulatory framework in the sector as well as promoting best practice in regulation and investment for the interest of Nigeria.

He says the three other players complied with the instruction; the defaulter kept doing so wilfully. There were also security dimensions to the challenge of having unregistered SIMs on telephone networks.

Ojobo stated: “Sanction is supposed to be a deterrent. The fine of N200,000 per unregistered SIM was fixed deliberately high to deter companies from disregarding the instruction. We did not really expect that we would get to any operator and find so many improperly registered SIMs. We expect 100% compliance. If there is no compliance, there will be sanctions. That is the message.”

For the communications profession, the message of this trapeze artist is clear: Master your craft. Benchmark against best practice locally and internationally.

Make communication integral to the policy and processes of the organisation and for the public sector make it serve as an enabler in fulfilment of vision and mission. Get external counsel because of its benefits.

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NIGCOMSAT Adopts Government’s Performance System

Published

19 hours ago

January 28, 2026

Ebere Melum-Nwogbo

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Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Ltd, in a strategic move to modernise its operations and foster a results-oriented workforce, has officially adopted the Federal Government’s Performance Management System (PMS).

NIGCOMSAT Adopts Government’s Performance System

The initiative, aimed at driving efficiency and institutionalising accountability, was marked by an intensive staff training program designed to align the agency’s operations with national performance goals and the Presidency’s vision for a digital-first public sector.

According to a statement from Stephen Kwande, the Agency’s acting head of Corporate Affairs, “the transition to PMS is a departure from historical evaluation methods. The new system is designed to provide real-time performance tracking and instill a stronger work ethic across all directorates”.

Welcoming participants, Mrs. Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, managing director/CEO of NIGCOMSAT, represented by Abiodun Attah, executive diirector, Technical Services, described the adoption as “long overdue.”

She emphasised that the system is critical for ensuring that NIGCOMSAT contributes effectively to Nigeria’s broader digital economy targets.

In her opening remarks, Mrs. Chinwe Udogu, general manager, Human Resources Management, expressed NIGCOMSAT’s enthusiasm for the program, urging staff to dedicate themselves fully to the three-day training.

She noted that the exercise was pivotal in repositioning the company to achieve its highest aspirations.

The training consultant, Mrs. Njoku Chioma, said the program is expected to drive culture change, automate work processes, and strengthen institutional performance.

The three-day training, jointly organised by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation and NIGCOMSAT Management, covers key themes including:

• Overview of the FCSSI25 as an institutional performance-driven Federal Civil/Public Service

• Service culture and workplace attitude in the Nigerian public sector

• Implementation of the Performance Management System in NIGCOMSAT

• Application of Artificial Intelligence tools to enhance performance in the Nigerian public sector

The move comes at a time when NIGCOMSAT is expanding its footprint, with recent initiatives like the 2026 SpaceTech Accelerator Programme and partnerships for grassroots digital skills training.

By strengthening its internal management framework, the agency aims to ensure that its technical advancements in satellite technology are matched by an equally efficient administrative engine.

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Nearly 90% of Organizations Prefer Outsourced or Hybrid Models for their SOC

Published

22 hours ago

January 27, 2026

Chike Onwuegbuchi

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Most companies choose to outsource at least part of their Security Operations Center (SOC), with a significant number adopting SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS), according to global research by Kaspersky.

This strategic move enables organisations to benefit from round-the-clock protection, ensure compliance with regulatory standards and leverage advanced cybersecurity solutions and qualified expertise that are often beyond their internal capabilities.

As cyberthreats become increasingly sophisticated, organisations are rethinking how they build and operate their Security Operations Centers. With this in mind, Kaspersky carried out a comprehensive global survey to identify the main motivations, strategic goals, and potential challenges associated with its planning and implementation¹.

The findings of this research revealed that 64% of companies plan to outsource part of their SOC, combining internal capabilities with external expertise.

Meanwhile, over a quarter of respondents (26%) are ready to fully implement an SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) model. By contrast, only 9% plan to build their SOC entirely in-house, highlighting the growing challenges of maintaining round-the-clock monitoring and attracting qualified specialists.

SOC outsourcing enables organisations to delegate selected SOC functions or even the entire operational cycle to a trusted external provider. This approach can include a variety of services:

Design and architecture of the SOC.

Deployment and maintenance of SOC technologies.

Monitoring and analysis by external security analysts.

Consulting and training services.

Full SOCaaS delivery, where the provider handles detection, investigation and response around the clock.

Most companies prefer maintaining strategic tasks internally, whilst leveraging external teams and advanced technologies for operational and highly technical workloads. Among organisations planning to outsource SOC functions, the most commonly delegated tasks to third-party providers included solution installation and deployment (55%), solution development and provisioning (53%), and SOC design (47%).

When engaging external SOC specialists, companies also showed a clear preference for augmenting specific roles, with first-line analysts (61%) and second-line analysts (52%) being the most in-demand among external specialists. These figures illustrate that companies focus more on frontline and intermediate security tasks, such as monitoring and responding to threats.

Why do organisations choose SOC outsourcing?

The leading motivator for SOC outsourcing is the need for 24/7 protection (55%) – an operational requirement many internal teams cannot sustain alone. Another highly cited benefit is reducing workload on internal IT security specialists (47%), enabling teams to focus on strategic tasks.

Additionally, access to advanced solutions and technologies (42%) and external support to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and standards (41%) further drive the decision to outsource, highlighting the value of specialised expertise and cutting-edge tools such as XDR, MDR, MXDR and others.

Budget optimisation is important for only 37% of companies – indicating that the primary value of outsourcing lies in improved protection, not just cost savings.

“The trend towards outsourcing SOC functions, whether fully or partially, is primarily driven by the necessity for enhanced operational focus and strategic agility. By shifting routine and technical tasks externally, organisations are able to concentrate on high-value activities such as strategic decision-making and orchestrating responses to sophisticated threats.

“Moreover, this approach often results in considerable cost efficiencies, allowing for optimised resource allocation. Ultimately, this model transforms the SOC into a critical strategic capability, directly contributing to business continuity,” comments Sergey Soldatov, Head of Security Operations Center at Kaspersky.

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DHQ Indicts Brigadier General Abubakar Sadiq, 15 Others in Alleged Coup Plot againt Tinubu

Published

2 days ago

January 27, 2026

Ebere Melum-Nwogbo

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Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has made public the full names of 16 officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria indicted by a Special Investigative Panel over alleged serious misconduct, including an alleged coup plot against President Bola Tinubu.

DHQ Indicts Brigadier General Abubakar Sadiq, 15 Others in Alleged Coup Plot againt Tinubu

The officers suspected to be involved in the coup plot include a brigadier general, a colonel, four lieutenant colonels, five majors, two captains, a lieutenant, a lieutenant commander and a Squandron Leader.

Major General Samaila Uba, director of Defence Information, disclosed this on Monday, stating that the panel had concluded its investigation and established that the affected officers had cases to answer.

According to him, the indicted officers will face a military Court Martial in line with established procedures and existing regulations.

Major Gen. Uba said the probe examined the circumstances surrounding the conduct of the officers and identified actions “inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards expected of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”

He stressed that the exercise was purely disciplinary and aimed at preserving internal discipline, cohesion and operational effectiveness, adding that the Armed Forces remain loyal to the Constitution and Nigeria’s democratic order.