The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria is currently training 25 journalists on use of Freedom of Information (FOI) ACT for investigative reporting of campaign finance and covid-19 accountability issues from Wednesday August 5 to Thursday 6 in Lagos State.
Organised in partnership with Media Rights Agenda (MRA), the workshop is part of activities under Component 4b: Support to the media of the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Project.
Participants 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 Edo States.
In a statement by the Executive Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, the trainung seeks 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 the Executive Director, OJA Development Consult, Mr. Jide Ojo.
Freelance Investigative Journalist, Ms. Tobore Ovuorie will speak on Using Investigative Reporting Techniques to Monitor Compliance with Campaign Finance and Political Expenditure Regulations; while the Executive Director, International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Mr. Dayo Aiyetan, will speak on Deploying the FOI Act and Other Investigative Tools/Methodologies in Reporting Covid-19 Funds in the Public Interest.
Other presentations are Understanding the Key Features of the FOI 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.
Arogundade said that the outcome would engender interventions that would enable the journalists fulfill the constitutional obligation of monitoring governance and holding the government accountable to the people.
Discussions at the workshop can be followed online using the media hashtag: #EU4DemocracyNG or @ipcng twitter, facebook and other social media channels.
