National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, has said the government should look for ways to invest heavily in social media rather than emphasizing on the tension it creates.
Speaking on the many challenges of social media faced by the government and Nigerian citizens, during the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) meeting with Information Managers of the APC at Federal and State levels at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Thursday,
Buni, who was represented by the member of the party’s National Caretaker Committee, Ismail Ahmed, said some challenges accompany the use of platforms with massive audiences, yet the benefits can outweigh the risks if the government recognises that it gives them greater reach to their citizens.
Buni, who remarked that the APC government has done progressively well but that a lot of its achievements are not well reported, added, "Rather, the negative reports are well disseminated rather than the positive."
Leveraging the new information and digital technology, Minister for information and. Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the social media undoubtedly facilitates the works of the government information and communication managers but breached at will.
He reiterated that the government has agreed to engage with Twitter and, hopefully, both can chart a path forward, without compromising national interest.
The minister lamented that the funding of the Federal Government’s information sector is far below par, due partly to the paucity of funds available to the Federal Government.
He noted that it is “also in part because of the little premium that we, as a nation, still place on information and communication management. We have had to juggle increasingly-scarce resources, raise funds using our personal contacts and devise ingenious ways of implementing our programmes. To put things in perspective, the budget of the information ministry in some states is higher than that of the Federal Government. And that’s a fact.”
He emphasized the lack of synergy among managers of information and communication in all strata of our government.
In his opening remarks, Chairman of the PGF, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, assured that the government does not take its citizenry for granted and will continue to communicate with them to earn their trust.
Also, the host, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, advocated that the government should learn to listen to the people because good policy trust comes from both sides.
He said the government should be proactive, especially in the age of social media and its many challenges.
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