PUBLIC RELATIONS AS A TOOL IN GOVERNMENT PARASTATALS (A STUDY OF AKWA IBOM HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY)

CHAPTER ONE

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In government parastatal, the present and the future advancement of such an establishment depends mostly on their public relations offices. This statement is a testimony of public relations as a tool in Government parastatals. This public relations constitute a very vital engine to the growth and development of cooperation within the establishment to enhance effective productivity.

    The word “PUBLIC RELATION” According to Stan L.U. Nwehinne is a firm’s deliberate or planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its public. Public relations activities are aimed out at maintaining and strengthening ties with the public that know and cherish you, wining the minds of those who know you but do not know you with information of your activities, and converting them to be your loyalists.

Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) and the public. Public relations may include an organization or individual ghttps://www.eprojectguide.com/problems-and-prospects-of-state-creation-in-nigeria-a-comparative-study-of-ebonyi-state-and-abia-state/aining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. This differentiates it from advertising as a form of marketing communications. Public relations is the idea of creating coverage for clients for free, rather than marketing or advertising. An example of good public relations would be generating an article featuring a client, rather than paying for the client to be advertised next to the article. The aim of public relations is to inform the public, prospective customers, investors, partners, employees and other stakeholders and ultimately persuade them to maintain a certain view about the organization, its leadership, products, or political decisions. Public relations professionals typically work for government, government agencies and public officials Rubel, (2007).

Public relations specialists establish and maintain relationships with an organization’s target audience, the media and other opinion leaders. Common responsibilities include designing communications campaigns, writing news releases and other content for news, working with the press, arranging interviews for company spokespeople, writing speeches for company leaders, acting as an organization’s spokesperson, preparing clients for press conferences, media interviews and speeches, writing website and social media content, managing company reputation (crisis management), managing internal communications, and marketing activities like brand awareness and event management. Success in the field of public relations requires a deep understanding of the interests and concerns of each of the client’s many publics. The public relations professional must know how to effectively address those concerns using the most powerful tool of the public relations trade, which is publicity. Goldman, Eric (1948)

1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Public relation is a function of all management, although the character and breath of public relation may vary with their authority and with the nature of policies and plans stated in the corporate objectives.  Public relation visualizes and anticipates future events and based on that sets actions and guidelines to actualize a desired future of affairs. However many government parastatal have ultimately failed in their services. Management of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Uyo and its environs has neglected the very important of public relation. This has no doubt resulted in financial loss,  poor productivity in services and in some case led to the poor maagement of many government parastatals and hampered the rapid development of such parastatals. Therefore it is pertinent to examine the critical problem with the aim of providing solutions by way of recommendations.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AS A TOOL IN GOVERNMENT PARASTATALS (A STUDY OF AKWA IBOM HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY)