WorldStage— The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has charged Heads of Public Affairs across the Commission to embrace emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), and deploy innovative, strategic and credible communication approaches to effectively tell the EFCC story, counter misinformation and strengthen public confidence in the fight against economic and financial crimes in Nigeria.
He gave the charge on at the closing ceremony of a Two-Day Executive Master Class on AI, Digital Media, Fact-Checking and Strategic Corporate Communication for Public Institutions, organised for Heads of Public Affairs Departments of the Commission at its Headquarters in Abuja.
Represented by the Secretary to the Commission, Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda, Olukoyede commended the organisers and participants for the success of the Master Class, noting that the rapidly changing communication environment demanded that the Commission’s communication professionals remain ahead of emerging technologies, trends and narratives.
The EFCC boss said the training was particularly timely as the Commission continued to strengthen its engagement with Nigerians and communicate the impact of its activities in the fight against economic and financial crimes. He urged the participants to translate the knowledge acquired into improved performance, stressing that “effective communication is central to public understanding, institutional credibility and sustainable support for the anti-corruption campaign.”
He also stressed that the Commission expected its Public Affairs officers to use the knowledge gained from the programme to develop more compelling narratives, respond intelligently to emerging issues and ensure that the EFCC’s story is told
with accuracy, speed and credibility.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Chief of
Staff to the Executive Chairman, Commander of the EFCC, CE Michael Nzekwe, spoke glowingly about the contributions of the Public Affairs arm of the Commission to the projection of the EFCC’s image and the advancement of its anti-corruption mandate.
He acknowledged the strategic role being played by Public Affairs officers in explaining the Commission’s work to the public, shaping public understanding of its activities and ensuring that the relevance of the EFCC in the fight against corruption remains visible in the public space. He encouraged the communication team to sustain its professionalism, creativity, and commitment to telling the Commission’s story in ways that resonate with Nigerians.
The Director, Public Affairs Department, Commander of the EFCC, CE Wilson Uwujaren, expressed appreciation to the management of the Commission for sponsoring the training, describing the investment in the capacity development of Public Affairs officers as timely and valuable.
Uwujaren urged the participants to put the knowledge acquired into optimal use, stressing that the true value of any training was measured by its impact on performance. He charged the Heads of Public Affairs Department in the zones to return to their various formations better equipped to deploy emerging communication technologies, fact-check information, develop compelling digital content and communicate the activities of the Commission more strategically.
Giving the vote of thanks on behalf of the facilitators of the programme, the Executive Director of the West Africa Broadcast Media Academy, WABMA, Mike Yawe, described the two-day engagement as an intensive and impactful learning experience. He thanked the EFCC for giving WABMA the opportunity to engage with what he described as a professional and highly interactive team.
Yawe observed that the training went beyond conventional lectures, providing participants with an opportunity to “learn, unlearn, rethink and refine” their approaches to communication.
According to him, one of the major lessons from the training was that “the communication environment has changed, and communicators must change with it.” He noted that Artificial Intelligence was no longer something communication professionals could afford to observe from a distance as it offered opportunities to research faster, generate ideas, analyse information, improve content and achieve better results within shorter periods.
However, he cautioned
that technology remained a tool, stressing that human communicators must continue to provide judgement, ethics, context and responsibility in the use of AI.
The WABMA Executive Director commended the quality of participation during the brainstorming sessions, noting that the questions, experiences and perspectives shared by participants demonstrated that the EFCC communication team was thinking deeply about its responsibility to the institution and the Nigerian public. He, however, challenged the participants to take the lessons from the Master Class back to their various offices and put them into practice.
“Use the AI tools responsibly. Verify before you amplify. Think strategically before you communicate. And never compromise the credibility of the institution you represent,” he charged.
He expressed appreciation to the management of the EFCC, the Public Affairs Department , facilitators and participants for making the two-day programme engaging and productive, while expressing hope that the engagement would mark the beginning of a continuing professional relationship between the Commission and WABMA.
The Master Class provided participants with practical exposure to emerging trends in Artificial Intelligence, Digital storytelling, Fact-checking, Misinformation management, Strategic corporate communication and Contemporary media engagement, with emphasis on their application to public-sector communication. Resource persons from WABMA took the participants through a gamut of professional tutoring, experience-sharing, life application and global excursion in strategic communication.
