ABUJA,Feb.18 (AFP)-Nogerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's spokesman Doyin Okupe left Nigeria Friday to go on a one-week intensive training course in presidential policy presentation at the White House, officials said. Okupe, whose performance as Obasanjo's spokesman has come under criticism in the media and in government, told reporters he hoped the course in the United States, also to be attended by the spokesman for the vice-president, would help him develop his skills in policy presentation. "The course will help us know the areas in which we have not been doing well," he said. Presidency officials told reporters last week that Obasanjo was also unhappy with the presentation of government policy and was considering sacking Okupe and Info rmation Minister Dapo Sarumi, both of whom now appear to have been spared the chop. Okupe, a medical doctor with no experience of the media before his appointment, said Friday that among new ideas being considered is a monthly forum to be broadcast on television and radio for the president to talk directly to the public about government policies. END ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------