Digital switch to be completed in Yobe soon – Commissioner for Information and Culture assures

Yobe State Government on Friday said plans had reached an advanced stage for a complete migration of its media outlets from analogue to digital.

Alhaji Mohammed Lamin, Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Information and Culture, disclosed this at the opening of a two-day training of Information Officers in the state.

According to him, digital switch-over of the state-owned media outlets is critical to effective information dissemination, which enhances citizens’ understanding of government policies and keying into them.

He noted that the development was in line with Gov. Mai mala Buni’s efforts towards providing enabling environment for the media outlets to operate at an optimal level.

“ On our part, we are ready. What the state awaits at the moment is for our partners to facilitate the speedy Digital switch-over,” Lamin said.

The Commissioner noted that the training organized by the ministry was focused on educating the officers and information managers on current trends in journalism and programming.

He said information officers were the ‘mouthpiece’ of government, as such, they must take their responsibilities seriously.

“ Part of your responsibilities which are expected to be treated today is managing and maintaining databases, information catalogues and web resources of the government.

“ Information Officers, you use your expertise to make sure that the information you manage is safe, secure and easily accessible to the people, as it is the reliable government source of information;” Lamin said.

The commissioner observed with dismay that so much had been done by the state government as part of post Insurgency recovery, but the efforts were either “underreported or even misreported.”

In her remarks, the Director, Information, in the ministry, Hajiya Hussna Ibrahim, said the workshop was aimed at ensuring training and re-training of staff, a strategy for sustainable and enhanced workforce.

She called on the participants to take advantage of the training, noting that the choice of seasoned and experienced journalists as facilitators would have a significant impact on the beneficiaries.