By Dipo Olowookere
Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, has announced that the Federal Government Information App (FGIAPP) would be launched in Abuja on Thursday, December 15, 2016, as part of efforts to enhance the dissemination of government activities.
The Minister made the announcement in Abuja on Thursday at a meeting with Resident Information Officers (RIOs) from Ministries, Departments and Agencies ahead of the launch.
He said with the Information App, the Federal Government is leveraging the New Media to communicate government’s policies and programmes to the people anywhere in the world and on real time basis.
“We as a government and as Information Ministry will leverage on the unique technology to inform the world about what we are doing. With the new App, it means anybody anywhere in the world will get to know, real time, what is happening in Nigeria at least from our own perspective and narrative,” Mr Mohammed said.
He said further that activities of the present administration were hugely under-reported, hence the need to align with the global trend in information sharing.
“The information architecture has changed completely…Today, the story is very different because we have the New Media, and unless you show a very strong presence there, you are not communicating to the world,” the Minister said.
Mr Mohammed stressed the essence of rich content to make the App viable, and said the necessary training and working tools will be provided for the RIOs in order to build their capacity and ensure effective contributions from their respective Ministries. Departments and Agencies.
In her remarks, the Director, Information Technology in the ministry, Mrs Veronica Adeyemo, said the App will be a cache of timely and credible information that will drive the authentic narrative from the side of the government.
The App Developer, Mr Olawole Falope, said it will be another veritable platform for Nigeria to blow its trumpet.
“The truth is if you heard only one side of the story, you make your decisions based on just one side. It’s about time that our great nation Nigeria starts to speak and we have to speak to the world,” he said.
He noted that most of the information being put out about Nigeria is either false or out-rightly fabricated, hence the need for the government to reverse the ugly trend.
