Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, has accepted to host the 2026 Nigeria Public Relations Week, promising that next year’s edition will be one of the best events.
The governor made the pledge when the national president of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr Ike Neliaku and members of his executive paid a courtesy call at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House.
Governor Uba Sani also promised to nominate two government officials to serve on the national planning committee and three others on the local organising committee.
The governor noted that the theme of next year’s event aligns with the broad objectives of the Kaduna Peace Model which emphasises non-kinetic approach towards tackling insecurity.
The theme of 2026 Nigerian Public Relations Week is “Food Security: From Policy Paper To Public Plates, The Public Relations Imperatives.’’
Governor Sani disclosed that when he assumed office, his administration studied the drivers of insecurity because Kaduna State was associated with banditry, kidnapping and ethno-religious crises.
Sani said one of the things he discovered was that insecurity was fuelled by economic crisis, whereby people felt hopeless and abandoned.
The governor also recalled that agriculture was under-funded as the budgetary allocation to the sector by the previous administration was less than 1%.
‘’So, we invested heavily in agriculture and we allocated 12% of our budget to the sector, surpassing the Malabo declaration which advised states to devote 10% of their budgets to agriculture,’’ he added.
Governor Uba Sani pointed out that adequate funding of the agricultural sector is central to the success of the Kaduna Peace Model because it contributes 43% of the state’s GDP and employs about 60% of the population.
The governor said that as a result of his administration’s intervention, farmers have returned to farms, adding that over 500 000 hectares of land have been reclaimed.
Speaking earlier, Dr Neliaku said that the Nigerian Public Relations week was first held in Abeokuta in the Southwest and the second one was in Uyo in the South-South.
Neliaku stated that Kaduna was chosen after a very rigorous process but Kano was still waiting in the wings in case Kaduna failed to accept the hosting offer.
