From Uche Usim, Abuja
Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Hameed Ali, yesterday warned his staff that only the Public Relations Officers (PROs) or persons authorised by management should speak to the media or manage information about the establishment.
Speaking at the opening of a training programme on crisis management for PROs and journalists at the Customs Command and Staff College in Gwagwalada, Abuja, yesterday, he said any unauthorised person who divulged information to the public would be severely sanctioned.
He said the new rule was to ensure that information managers (PROs) and the management were on the same page and not working at cross-purposes.
He said the management would continue to actively engage the public while pursuing the three-prong presidential mandate of restructuring, reforming and raising revenues for the country.
He said: “Messages from the service must always be correct and professionally communicated to the public. If you are not authorised, do not speak or manage information.”
Ali said the establishment was repositioning its communication strategies while complying with the requirements of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
“You would recall in 2012, that virtually all NCS PROs were inducted as Associate Members of NIPR,” he noted.