FrontFoot Media Initiative targets greater accountability by state governments
By Chimezie Godfrey
Experts in forensic auditing, public finance and accounting are joining top media professionals in a three-year effort, beginning this week in Benin City, to build the capacity of journalists to report on state government audits in Nigeria.
Fifty journalists will participate in the introductory Audit Reporting Training workshops in the Edo State capital on 5-6 October, and in Awka on 17-18 October. They are the precursors to similar events planned for 2023 and 2024 in other parts of the country.
The Benin City event will attract journalists from Edo and Delta States while Awka will host invited journalists from Anambra and Enugu States.
At the two-day workshops journalists will learn to mine state government audit reports for stories that will boost transparency and accountability in Nigeria. Each workshop will feature between 20 and 30 participants drawn from print, broadcast, and online media platforms.
In a statement by Chido Nwakanma, Training Coordinator, FrontFoot said it is undertaking the training as part of the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability Project (C-Media) project of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation.
FrontFoot stated that audit reporting is central to promoting transparency and accountability in governance, critical levers to pull Nigeria out of the quagmire of corruption, poverty, and under-development.
FrontFoot is a non-profit, civil society organization established to advance democracy and development in Nigeria and the African continent through enhancing the quality of journalism.
The group aims to re-invigorate media practice in and about Africa, using Nigeria as base; and to promote reporting in a context that gives it meaning and involves people in finding solutions to common problems.
In building the professional capacity of journalists, it says emphasis will be on issues and causes that directly affect the lives of the people, especially security of life and property, food security, health, climate change, and education.
Experienced media professionals direct and manage FrontFoot Media Initiative. The directors are Sonala Olumhense, renowned columnist of Sonala Olumhense Syndicated across many platforms and former Editor of ThisWeek and Editorial Page Editor of The Guardian, Eluem Emeka Izeze, former managing director and editor of The Guardian, and Sully Abu, former managing director of New Age newspaper and The African Guardian.
