Participants at the Fifth Audit Reporting Training organized by FrontFoot Media Initiative in Gombe have called on Journalists to intensify their watchdog role in monitoring governments at the three tiers of governance in the country.
They further urged the media to deploy audit reporting for better reporting and to provide more in-depth reporting on public financial management.
The participants also requested FrontFoot Media to organise repeat sessions of the Media Audit Reporting Training until the practice of audit reporting becomes established in the media because of its utility.
The calls were contained is a Communique issued at the end of the two-day Audit Reporting Training workshop organised for Journalists in the North-East Zone and Plateau State by FrontFoot Media Initiative on 23 and 24 May 2024, in Gombe, Gombe State.
Forty-six participants from broadcast, print, and online media attended from Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau and Taraba states during which former ICAN President, Mallam Ismaila Zakari was the lead facilitator, Mr Yusuf Doma, FCA, also led a technical session while other speakers were Mr Sully Abu, Emeka Izeze, Sonala Olumhense, FrontFoot Media Initiative directors, and Mr Chido Nwakanma, the Training Coordinator.
In his presentation, Ismaila Zakari urged the media to carefully report on public financial management, particularly at sub-national or state and local government levels, as doing so will enhance good governance and boost Nigeria’s democracy.
He defined public financial management as “the framework, processes, and tools governments use to plan, allocate, manage, and monitor public resources, including revenue, expenditure, assets, and liabilities.
He stressed that It encompasses the entire financial management cycle in the public sector, from budget formulation and execution to accounting, reporting, auditing, and legislative scrutiny.”
Ismaila Zakari highlighted and educated participants on critical aspects of audit reports and how such knowledge would enable Journalists to report public financial management to benefit audiences stressing that such reporting would enhance Nigeria’s democracy.
In his own presentation, Yusuf Doma gave an overview of the accounting system and the role and importance of the Auditor General in the process.
Sully Abu while opening the training, decried the poor status of LGAs and their increasing failure to play their roles, caused by state governors bastardising local governments and continuously seizing their funds. Such conduct has, in turn, affected accountability at local government levels.
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Emeka Izeze kept reminding the Journalists of their roles as society watchdogs to ensure that the executives of the state governments were held accountable.
At the same time, Mr Sonala Olumhense affirmed that audit reporting is now imperative if the Nigerian media is to effectively report the government to the people.
The speakers urged Journalists to acquaint themselves with Section 2, chapter 2, subsection 22 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
This section he says, empowers Journalists to monitor and report on governance so that government at federal, state, and local levels “upholds the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.”
The training provided a robust session of frank questions on the structure of governance in Nigeria, the standing of local government administration, and the role of the watchdog in the process of audit and good governance.
One remarkable feature was the Journalists’ and trainers’ engagement on the issues arising from the study of audit reports, which gained traction and allowed more interaction.
Common learnings for the journalists were the terms of audit and accounting and the duty of journalists to act as society’s watchdogs, raise pertinent issues on government processes, set agendas, and create a narrative on budget processes, implementation, and audit as contained in the communique jointly signed by Umar Sa’id, Chairman Victoria Roland Andekin, Member and Chika Udenkwo who served as Secretary.
