The Kwara State government said it is working at implementing more measures to curb fake news and unfounded rumour peddling among people in the state.

The Commissioner for Communications, Bolanle Olukoju, disclosed this at an interface with press secretaries across ministries, departments and agencies at the ministry’s headquarters in Ilorin.

According to Olukoju, the menace of fake news needs to be nipped in the bud, failure of which could have a devastating impact on societal values and progress.

“So far, the state government has taken various measures to curb fake news, part of which suspected carriers were apprehended by law enforcement Agents.

“We have therefore instructed Press Secretaries to report activities of MDAs not later than an hour after the event, to own the narrative.

“Furthermore, they are to attach their phone contacts to their press releases, for further clarifications from members of the public. I must be quick to add that feedback from this measure has been tremendous,” she explained.

Speaking further on the new measure, the commissioner disclosed that “we are currently collating all the official social media handles of all MDAs. After collation, we will share them with the public, with the admonition that any news about the state government not reported from any of these handles should be considered fake. That way, we take control of the narratives of our activities.”

The Commissioner, however, assured the press secretaries of support from the ministry, admonishing them to take advantage of the open-door policy to share challenges, areas of strength and weaknesses and to rob minds on likely solutions.

“The Ministry is currently working on organizing in-house training on some areas of interest for Press Secretaries to achieve efficiency in service delivery,” she added.

In his remarks, Director of Information Services, Abdulganiyu Atere, appreciated the commissioner for creating time to share innovative ideas with press secretaries in the state, to aid their productivity.

Reacting to the Commissioner’s address, the Communication Officer, Kwara FADAMA, Sangodare Ayinla, commended the Commissioner for coming up with different innovative ideas to ease the work situation of press secretary.