The Voice of Nigeria (VON) is strengthening its grassroots-focused communication strategies through a strategic partnership with the Presidential Community Engagement Team.
This development followed a high-level visit by the Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) to the President on Community Engagement to VON’s headquarters in Abuja.
Welcoming the delegation, the Director-General of Voice of Nigeria, Malam Jibril Baba Ndace, pledged the organisation’s full institutional backing to amplify grassroots voices across the country. He lauded the initiative as timely and in alignment with VON’s ongoing rebranding efforts.
Describing the visit as a “homecoming,” Ndace called it a significant step toward narrowing the communication gap between the government and its citizens.
Earlier, Abdullahi Tanko Yakasai, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement for the Northwest, highlighted the purpose of the visit, stating it was part of ongoing efforts to establish synergy with key government agencies in the area of public communication and citizen sensitisation.
“We are six in number, one SSA per geopolitical zone mandated by Mr. President to bridge the trust deficit between rural communities and the federal government.
“Our role is to deliver messages of federal programs directly to the people and bring back feedback to policymakers,” Yakasai explained.
He emphasised that the engagement team collaborates with federal bodies such as NEMA, NIMC, and the Ministry of Communications to ensure that federal interventions, particularly social investment programs, effectively reach their intended recipients.
“We feel that a strong partnership with the Voice of Nigeria is essential in promoting these messages, particularly because of your mandate to project Nigeria’s image globally,” he added.
Also speaking during the visit, Dr. Abiodun Essiet, SSA to the President on Community Engagement for the North Central, described the team as “the Voice of the Community,” complementing VON’s role as the “Voice of Nigeria.”
She explained that the team employs a robust feedback mechanism to connect local concerns with federal decision-makers, ensuring inclusivity in government planning and execution.
“Our job is to gather the pulse of the people and channel it to the Federal Executive Council. Whether it’s on the state of federal roads, recruitment anomalies, or policy implementation issues, we ensure ministers get real-time, verified information from the grassroots,” she said.
Dr. Essiet further highlighted the Citizens’ Assembly initiative and the ongoing development of a National Community Engagement Framework, which is currently under review at the Federal Ministry of Information.
“The framework seeks to institutionalise participatory governance, requiring ministries and agencies to engage citizens from planning through implementation to monitoring and evaluation.
“It’s about co-creation, making sure that those affected by policies have a say in shaping them. Engagement should not be symbolic; it should be empowering,”she noted.
In response, DG Ndace expressed strong enthusiasm for the collaboration, affirming that it aligns with VON’s renewed focus on grassroots storytelling and development-oriented broadcasting.
“Since assuming office in October 2023, we’ve embarked on a full rebranding of Voice of Nigeria to return it to its original mandate, telling Nigeria’s story with pride and intentionality.
“We’re not just reporting policy. We are shaping narratives, celebrating diversity, and building national identity,” he said.
He revealed that VON currently broadcasts in eight languages, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Fulfulde, English, French, Arabic, and Swahili and announced plans to add Mandarin, following ongoing engagements with China Media Group.
Ndace also disclosed that VON is working to resume terrestrial broadcasting to complement its digital platforms, aiming to reach millions of rural Nigerians.
As a major highlight of the visit, the Director-General offered the Presidential Community Engagement Team a dedicated weekly program slot to showcase their fieldwork and community reports.
“This platform is yours. We’ll give you a weekly program called ‘Voice of the Community’ if you like, and everything you do in the six zones will be amplified. You talk to us in one language, and we’ll broadcast it in eight,” he declared.
Ndace further outlined VON’s expanded zonal structure, noting the redeployment of Deputy Directors to zonal and state offices for improved content generation.
“We’ve strengthened our presence in Gombe, Kano, Enugu, Calabar, Oshogbo, Minna, Benue, and Kogi, and we’re pushing further to cover more cultural and social angles,” he said.
He emphasised that beyond policy communication, VON will now place stronger emphasis on cultural storytelling, interviews with changemakers, and programs highlighting Nigeria’s festivals, heritage, and local innovations.
“This is how we build a positive national identity. Nigerians in the diaspora, and indeed the global community, need to see our beauty, resilience, and cultural wealth,” he added.
The visit ended on a note of mutual appreciation, with the DG thanking the SSAs for their engagement and assuring them of VON’s continued support in advancing participatory governance and national development.