The International Press Centre, Lagos-Nigeria will be training 25 journalists on how to use the Freedom of Information Act for investigative reporting of campaign finance and COVID-19 accountability issues on August 5 and 6 respectively in Lagos.
This was made known in a press statement released and signed by the Programme Manager, ‘SANMI FALOBI earlier today.
The workshop, organized in partnership with Media Rights Agenda (MRA), which was part of the activities under Component 4b: Support to the media of the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Project.
The participants at the workshop include; investigative reporters, political reporters, state house correspondents, and editors drawn from the public and private print, broadcast, and online media in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, and the Edo States.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, stressed out that the purpose of the workshop is to sharpen the investigative skills of participants to be effective users of the Freedom of Information Act as a tool to facilitate transparent, free, fair and credible elections and ensuring accountability of COVID 19 funds.
According to him, the workshop will feature presentations on Understanding and Reporting Campaign Finance and Political Expenditure Frameworks and Issues, by Mr. Jide Ojo, Executive Director, OJA Development Consult; Using Investigative Reporting Techniques to Monitor Compliance with Campaign Finance and Political Expenditure Regulations by Ms. Tobore Ovuorie, Freelance Investigative Journalist and Deploying the FOI Act and Other Investigative Tools/Methodologies in Reporting Covid-19 Funds in the Public Interest by Mr. Dayo Aiyetan, Executive Director, International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR). Others are Understanding the Key Features of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 by Mr. Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director, Media Rights Agenda (MRA), and The Role of the Media in Ensuring Good Governance and Government Accountability by Mr. Lanre Arogundade.
He claimed that the outcome will engender interventions that will enable the journalists to fulfill the constitutional obligation of monitoring governance and holding government accountable to the people.