Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, has declared that the conduct of government activities has been transparent under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. Anyim made the declaration yesterday at a one-day workshop for special assistants on media and directors of information of federal ministries.
The former Senate president noted that it was in furtherance of this commitment to conduct government business transparently that informed the signing of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act into law. “The signing of the FoI Act into law by the president was borne out of this need to remove the veil of secrecy that had for several years in this country shrouded governance and which had unfortunately encouraged the thinking that government was a cult from which the people were excluded. “Today, that perception of government is changing.
Nigerians can, and indeed have been availing themselves of the opportunity presented by the Act to hold government accountable. “But that is not all. This administration has even gone a step further to deepen communication with the public through the re-establishment of the Department of Public Affairs within the Presidency to continually make information about government activities available to the public.” The SGF charged the participants at the workshop to commit themselves to the onerous task of nation building by debunking what he claimed to be the sustained misinformation and campaign of calumny against the Jonathan administration in the media.
“President Jonathan’s commitment to transform this country remains unshaken despite the growing tendency of the opposition to misinform the public. It is your responsibility to stem this unwholesome trend. “You must strive to keep to the pace and commit yourselves to nation-building. Make deliberate efforts to debunk the misinformation and campaigns of calumny against government. You can achieve this in a coordinated and professional manner that leaves no one in doubt that this administration is living up to the promise it made to the people when it was inaugurated on May 29, 2011.”
In his opening remarks, former director-general of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and chief executive officer of Silverbird Group, Ben Murray Bruce, faulted the condemnation of Senior Special Assistant to the President (Public Affairs), Dr. Doyin Okupe, as attack dog of Mr. President. Bruce advised Okupe not to see the description as a derisive label but a compliment. “If you say Doyin Okupe is an attack dog, that’s his job. That’s the job he is paid to do. A media aide shouldn’t allow his boss to be attacked without defence.
In this era of twitter, you must protect your boss who is attacked on daily basis. Do not be afraid,” Bruce told Okupe. In his welcome address to participants, Okupe admonished Nigerians to see the responsibility of transforming the country as the task of all Nigerians. “It is our responsibility to change this country, not President Jonathan. We must understand the role we have to play in this country,” Okupe submitted.