NIPR flags Tinubu’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale as not fit to function in the role

 

President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, is not qualified to function in the office he currently occupies, says the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). 

The NIPR claims Ngelale, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Tinubu, is not a certified member of the NIPR, hence, not qualified to function in the office he currently occupies.

According to PR Nigeria quoting members of the NIPR governing council, Ngelale, without the basic knowledge and requisite training on PR, is ordinarily not ‘fit’ to hold the exalted position he now occupies in the Tinubu Presidency.

“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,” said one of the governing council members who spoke in confidence.

Ngelale has goofed twice since taking the job as Tinubu’s spokesman. The first was when he claimed the UAE had lifted the visa ban on Nigerians. An unnamed UAE official later debunked the claim via CNN. 

Ngelale, a week later, also made another gaffe when he said Tinubu was the first African leader to ring the closing trading bell at the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ). Former President of Tanzania, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, and other notable leaders had rang the NASDAQ closing  bell before  Tinubu.