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Election: IPC Partners NAWOJ, EU On Capacity Building For Female Journalists

Published

3 years ago

November 21, 2022

By Ijeoma Umeh

Mr Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director, International Press Centre, IPC, has said that for the media to serve as catalysts of credible elections, certain deliberate actions must be taken.

Mr Arogundade said this while addressing female journalists drawn from both print and electronic media from the South-South, South-East, and South West during a workshop organised by the IPC in partnership with NAWOJ with the European Union Support for Media under the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU SDGNll) Project held in Port Harcourt Rivers state.

He stated that the workshop was designed to further enhance the skills of the participants on professional, impactful, inclusive and public interest reporting of the electoral processes and the 2023 elections.

He further noted that strengthening the media for fair, accurate, ethical and inclusive coverage of electoral processes will consolidate democracy.

He, therefore, tasked female journalists to make use of the skills acquired in the two days training to combat fake news, provide civic and voter education and inspire other forms of engagement with the media that encourage the people, particularly the underrepresented groups like women, youths, and persons with disabilities to vote and be voted for.

He further urged participants to at the end of the workshop interrogate issues such as the next step after the training.

The IPC boss stated, “The investment of the EU-SDG Nll and the efforts of the IPC in putting together this workshop would only be deemed productive if in the aftermath we are able to identify the impact of your work on the Electoral processes and the 2023 elections in visible and significant ways.”

In her remarks, Comrade Ladi Bala, President, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) appreciated the efforts of IPC in building the capacity of female Journalists and the EU for bringing effective development partnerships to Nigeria.

She noted that the media is an integral part of society and with strategic roles to play in the Electoral process and hoped that the training will help expose Journalists to the dynamics of the Electoral process as well as strengthen their skills in churning out balanced and objective reports during the elections.

The NAWOJ President stated, “The long walk of commitment and the concerted efforts we all made together have yielded results. Let us put our minds to this training and join all other well meaning people as agents of change in promoting good governance, to see a paradigm shift in the Electoral process and Governance in Nigeria. “
Facilitators at the training, included Mrs Moji Makanjuola, CEO, International Society of Media in Public Health, David Ajikobi, Nigeria Editor, Africa Check and Taiwo Obe, Founder, Journalism Clinic.

They took participants through an intensive training on Fact-Checking, how to fact check political claims, and various media and online tools to be deployed in accurate fact checking, Electoral Processes and the 2023 Elections, according priority on women and other underrepresented, Reporting in the Public Interest , Conflict Sensitivity and Safety in Election Reporting, and Conceptual Clarifications in Electoral Processes, among others.

The Project is targeted at building the capacity of 140 female journalists across the nation on election reporting, and participants will be required to pitch stories around the elections and get editorial mentorship and assistance while doing so.

News

JUST IN: Nigerian Separatist Leader Convicted On Terrorism Charges

Published

1 hour ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

A court in Nigeria has found separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu guilty of terrorism 10 years after he was first arrested.

The court said it was satisfied that Kanu had made a series of broadcasts to incite violence and killings, as part of his campaign for a separate state in south-east Nigeria, known as Biafra.

Kanu has so far been convicted on six of the seven charges he faced, with the judge continuing to deliver his ruling.

A relatively obscure figure, Kanu’s popularity surged in 2009 when he started Radio Biafra, a station that called for an independent state for the Igbo people broadcast to Nigeria from London.

Though he grew up in south-eastern Nigeria, where he attended the University of Nsukka, Kanu moved to the UK before graduating and acquired British nationality.

In 2014, he set up the Indigenous People Of Biafra (Ipob), a movement demanding independence.

Ipob was banned as a terrorist organisation in 2017. Its armed wing – the Eastern Security Network – has been accused of killings and other acts of violence in recent years.

Delivering his judgement, Judge James Omotosho said: “Mr Kanu knew what he was doing, he was bent on carrying out these threats without consideration to his own people.

“From the incontroverted evidence, it is clear that the defendant carried out preparatory act of terrorism.

“He had the duty to explain himself but failed to do so.”

Ahead of the verdict, Kanu insisted that proceedings could not continue because he had not yet filed his final written address, accusing the judge of bias and not understanding the law.

The verdict was delivered after Kanu had been forcibly removed from the courtroom for unruly behaviour.

He was first arrested in October 2015 but he jumped bail in 2017 and left the country after a military raid on his home. The court later revoked his bail in March 2019 and he was re-arrested in 2021 in Kenya.

The calls for Biafran independence date back many years.

In 1967 Igbo leaders declared a Biafran state, but after a brutal civil war, which led to the deaths of up to a million people, the secessionist rebellion was defeated.

News

Alleged Christian Genocide: APC Requests To Testify At US Congress

Published

4 hours ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in the United States has requested to testify at the US House Subcommittee on Africa today (Thursday).

This is as American lawmakers review former President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern”, CPC, over alleged religious persecution.

APC USA, in a letter to the Subcommittee Chairman, Rep. Chris Smith, said it was prepared to send a high-level delegation to present what it described as “firsthand intelligence and verifiable data” on Nigeria’s security realities.

Chairman of the APC USA, Prof Tai Balofin, confirmed the request in a statement in Abuja, saying the group hoped to provide clarity on what it views as misconceptions surrounding Nigeria’s security challenges.

Fear grips Nigerians as terrorists go on rampage, target large gatherings
“We support religious freedom for all Nigerians, but narratives abroad often fail to reflect the full complexity of the crisis.

“The insecurity in Nigeria is driven by banditry, resource conflict, climate pressures and transnational crime-not solely by religious persecution. Congress deserves the complete picture before reaching conclusions,” he said.

According to him, the proposed testimony would also highlight what the group sees as security gains under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The APC USA delegation also plans to recommend deeper US–Nigeria cooperation on security, intelligence sharing and humanitarian support.

The call for testimony comes shortly after Nigeria criticised the United States for excluding it from a UN event hosted by American rapper Nicki Minaj, which focused on alleged killings of Nigerians from a particular faith group.

News

Foundation Holds School Debate In Benin To Address Negative Narrative About Education

Published

17 hours ago

November 19, 2025

Editor

Osahon Enabulele Foundation, (DOEF), has given reason for organising interschool secondary schools debate in Edo State, saying it was “conceived to tackle the negative narrative surrounding the value of education among the younger generation.”

The Director—General of the foundation, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, stated this at the grand finale of the maiden edition of the debate held in Benin on Wednesday.

The competition, titled: “If education is a scam or not” was informed by the social-economic reality with students demonstrating impressive intellectual competition and depth.

Enabulele stressed that the debate was aimed at promoting intellectual development, encouraging civic engagement and public speaking, and fostering leadership qualities and critical thinking.

He added that the foundation, established nine months ago, was driven by strategic pillars that include leadership and governance, health, education, policy advocacy and social philanthropy.

According to him, many young people are becoming disillusioned by society’s “defective role modelling” and the “unfortunate reward for individuals with questionable sources of wealth,”

He said, “The debate is totally driven by the Foundation as a deliberate interventionist initiative that seeks to reverse the worrisome negative narrative about education, particularly amongst our upcoming generations, including our youths who are increasingly becoming victims of our society’s defective role modelling and unfortunate reward for individuals with very questionable sources of wealth, with leadership and societal positions. Our younger ones are truly becoming disillusioned as a result of these inanities.

“Some no longer think it is worthwhile to acquire education or task their brains in any way. This debate initiative is therefore our Foundation’s committed efforts to contribute to the reversal of this worrisome trend and mindset affliction.”

The interschool debate saw Eghosa Grammar School clinching the N1m star prize while other winners were also presented with a certificate of participation, books and other sundry items.

The outstanding speakers during the debate also went home with cash prizes ranging from N100,000 to N200, 000.