C'River: Otu Clamps Down On Media Teams In MDAs... Directs Info Boss, CPS, Trained Personnel To Oversee Govt. News Dissemination

By Victor UDU.

Worried by a plethora of contradictory information purportedly circulated in the public domain by unauthorized sources depicting official positions on key issues, the state government has announced a total ban on the activities of media teams attached to appointees in the state

A circular emanating from the office of the Secretary to State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh stated that henceforth, only the Commissioner for Information, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, and Information Officers attached to the MDAs are permitted to disseminate information on government activities, policies, and programs

The circular dated 16 November, .2023 conveying the decisions endorsed at the 17th meeting of the State Executive Council of November 8, 2023, also directed that all communications from extra ministerial departments must be routed through the respective supervising Commissioners of such parastatals. 

It requested a regular interface between the management of parastatals and supervising ministries on their activities and plans to promote collaboration, achieve synergy, strengthen, and attain efficiency.

The circular restrained all appointees below the status of the commissioner from having an audience with the governor only in exceptional cases or when invited.

Among other far-reaching decisions adopted by the exco and conveyed in the circular were that all draft memos to the Executive Council must be submitted with 40 copies of relevant annexures not later than 90 hours before the scheduled meeting to allow for in-depth study and robust inputs.

The circular further requested that Memos seeking financial approvals must cite and annex the approval of The Governor on such request, clearance from the Budget Office, and "No Objection" Certificate of the Due Process and Price Intelligence Bureau, and all such memos must be submitted in 40 copies to the Exco Secretariat and accordingly directed the Secretariat to ensure that all matters due for considerations must be circulated to those concerned at least 48 hours to the scheduled meeting.