The Daily Trust Foundation has embarked on a three-day training for media practitioners in the six states of the North East on budget tracking and investigation.
The workshop, which has drawn 20 participants from various media organizations, is part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the Media Trust Group, supported by the MacArthur Foundation. The workshop which was funded by the MacArthur Foundation, was organized to equip journalists with processes involved in budget tracking and investigating journalism for accountability.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Foundation, Malam Bilya Bala, said the training was necessary to sharpen the skills of journalists to track budgets from source to implementation.
Bala said it’s the responsibility of journalists to go beyond government pronouncements, follow the money, and track how the resources were being implemented and for what they were budgeted for.
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He said, “Always report to people the budget performance while holding the government accountable for all the promises made, and the stages of implementation, with evidence.”
He further said that Media Trust had always set aside part of its profit to give out as charity to specific kinds of disadvantaged people.
The chairman was optimistic that the training on budget and investigation would equip the journalists with the knowledge of data mining and analysis to hold sub-nationals accountable and bring good governance to the doorsteps of the masses.
The Gombe State Commissioner for Information, Mijinyawa Ardo Tilde, who represented the governor, said most government projects were being implemented based on need assessment carried out through engagement with CSOs, traditional rulers, and town hall meetings.
“In a democracy like ours, the ability of the press to scrutinize public expenditure and track budget implementation is not just a right but a responsibility.
“Through diligent reporting, journalists can shed light on the workings of government, highlight areas of concern, and foster an informed citizenry. This, in turn, will strengthen our democratic institutions and promote good governance,” he said.
He applauded the Daily Trust Foundation and indeed the Media Trust management for choosing Gombe state to host the training sessions for journalists in the North-east geopolitical zone.
Twenty (20) journalists were selected from Daily Trust, TrustTV, The Guardian, NTA, Progress FM, Jewel Times, and Hamada Times. The participants comprised journalists from Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe, Bauchi, Taraba, and Borno States respectively.
The facilitators included Mr Stephen Ayuba, Former Permanent Secretary, Gombe State Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Dr. Abdullahi Tasiu Abubakar, Lecturer, City, University of London, Oluwadamilola Ojetunde, Data Editor (Africa) British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
