The Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr. Law Mefor has charged public relations practitioners to champion strategic communication as a tool for rebuilding public trust, accountability and excellence in governance.
Mefor gave the charge on behalf of Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at the One-Day Hybrid Professional Training organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Anambra State Chapter, with the theme, “Re-inventing Public Trust, Accountability, Professionalism and Excellence in Anambra State: Harnessing Public Relations Best Practices in Government, Corporate and Public Service.”
He emphasised the power of branding and reputation management in politics and governance, noting that in public perception, perception is more potent than reality.
“The resource person talked about branding. In political communication, those of us in politics know that the individual politician is a brand — either a good one or a bad one. If you see yourself as a brand, you need to manage it,” he said.
“In social and learning psychology, reality and perception are miles apart, and perception happens to be more important than reality. Who you are, no matter how noble, if the perception out there is that you are a bad person, then you are a bad person. You need to manage your reputation,” he stated.
Mefor observed that some politicians with poor track records thrive because of excellent reputation management, stressing that governance must go beyond information dissemination to strategic communication that drives attitude change and behaviour modification.
“It is not enough to inform, to dump information. You need to communicate strategically so that people begin to ask themselves questions about their governance,” he said.
Citing Anambra’s environmental crisis as an example of attitudinal failure, the commissioner said flooding and erosion were largely man-made, caused by channelling of storm water from homes onto roads and total concreting of compounds without catchment pits or green areas.
He disclosed that his ministry began a joint engagement campaign with the Ministry of Environment on Tuesday, to sensitise citizens on sustainable environmental practices, noting that Governor Soludo deliberately rebranded the Ministry of Information to Ministry of Information and Value Reformation to drive value reorientation and rebranding of the state.
“We need to recreate Anambra — the Paradise for which Anambra was known before, which we lost. Where did we lose our way? How do we retrace our steps so we will not continue to progress in error?” he queried, and appealed to NIPR to join the Soludo administration’s coalition of the willing to rebuild the reputation of old Anambra, describing it as a practical, not theoretical, task.
