Boma Achenimie 
The Federal Government on Tuesday advised Nigerians, especially public office holders, to equip themselves with media and information literacy in order to guard against misinformation, fake news and biased narratives.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this call in Abuja while speaking at the Second Spokespersons Summit, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
Speaking at the event, Idris lamented that many Nigerians, including public officials, have increasingly fallen victim to the spread of falsehoods due to a lack of media literacy.
According to him, the inability to properly interrogate media content has exposed both public officers and the general public to fake news and disinformation.
“In today’s media-saturated world, the ability to analyse, decipher and evaluate information is no longer optional,” the minister said.
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Idris, however, disclosed that the Federal Government was in advanced stages of establishing a Media and Information Literacy Institute in partnership with UNESCO.
He revealed that the institute would be located within the precincts of the National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja.
“In fact, I have just returned from Paris, France, where I held a meeting with senior UNESCO officials, in which the impending take-off of the institute featured prominently,” he said.
The minister also highlighted the Federal Government’s recent move to professionalise public communication, announcing that Public Relations has now been recognised as a distinct cadre in the Federal Civil Service, effective from December 2023.
The summit, held in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, was attended by notable dignitaries, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; former Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed;and other former ministers and serving lawmakers.
