According to the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Ajuri Ngelale, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s special adviser on media and publicity, is unqualified for the position because he is not an accredited member of the organisation.
Public relations in Nigeria are governed by the NIPR, and it is against the law for anyone to practise the field without the required training and authorization.
Days after Ngelale’s error embarrassed the Tinubu administration, the institute made its revelation.
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The presidential assistant had asserted that Tinubu was the first African head of state to sound the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ).
The State House was forced to recant Ngelale’s statement after a fact-check showed that Jakaya Kiwete, the former president of Tanzania, really rung the NASDAQ closing bell in 2011.
After a meeting between President Tinubu and his UAE counterpart, Ngelale had earlier made the untrue assertion that the United Arab Emirates had lifted its ban on Nigerians obtaining visas.
The NIPR apparently checked its records after the unfortunate incident and found that the presidential adviser does not have the necessary certification to practise public relations in the nation.
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A member of the NIPR governing council claims that Ngelale’s qualifications for his position in the Tinubu Presidency are in doubt because he lacks professional PR training and certification.
“We have checked our records and membership register and we could not find Ajuri Ngelale in the list. One can be a good writer, broadcaster or journalist but there are set parameters of knowledge a communicator needs to acquire including qualification before he/she can practice Public Relations in Nigeria.
“The law establishing NIPR provides laid-down rules about appointing spokespersons which also makes it a criminal offence for anybody to practice Public Relations by whatever name without certification by the Institute. In fact the NIPR act stipulates punishment for illegal practice including imprisonment, fine, or both,” a member of the newly elected NIPR governing council told PRNigeria.
Ngelale, a television journalist from Nigeria who was born in 1986, previously worked as the former president Muhammadu Buhari’s senior special adviser on public affairs.
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For the 2023 presidential elections, he served as one of the co-principal spokespersons for the Ahmed Bola Tinubu presidential campaign council.
Ngelale worked as a prominent reporter and presenter for Channels Television and Africa Independent Television (AIT).
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