By Onu Okorie
Seplat Energy Plc, foremost Nigerian indigenous energy company, has trained additional 50 journalists and media practitioners in Nigeria’s federal capital territory, Abuja as it concludes the third edition of its media training in line with the Company’s sustainability commitments.
The media training programme was organized in partnership with Channels Academy, and had in attendance journalists/media practitioners in the energy, finance, capital market, judiciary, and general business beats.
The two-day media training, which was themed, ‘Retooling the Media for Better Reporting’ dwelt on areas like: Local and International Energy Market Overview; the Intersection of the Judiciary and Energy Sector and the Fundamentals of Energy Journalism.
Insights were also shared on Reporting Nigeria’s Local Energy Giants, Legal Compliance and Best Practice, Data Analysis and Interpretation as well as Leveraging Technology in Journalism. The event, which culminated in the presentation of Certificates also featured group discussions on ethical scenarios and presentations.
The training programme was facilitated by industry experts including Martin Ayankola, veteran Energy editor; Dr. Paul Ogbole, Senior Advocate of Nigeria; Simon Ejembi, Editor/Senior Manager, Channels Digital; Taiwo Adesina, Video production Specialist/Drone Pilot, and Emonye Adekwu, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Speaking during the engagement, Stanley Opara, Manager Corporate Communications at Seplat Energy Plc, who represented Chioma Afe, Director External Affairs & Social Performance, Seplat Energy, reiterated Seplat Energy’s commitment to the continuous empowerment of journalists and the media as a whole, as partners in progress.
He identified the media as critical stakeholders of Seplat Energy, saying the development of the media industry in terms of skills and capacity advancement, remains dear to the Company and its leadership.
In his address, Mr. Kingsley Uranta, General Manager at Channels Academy, emphasized the role of the media in national development, stressing that the need to build more capacity in the media space cannot be overemphasized.
Responding, the journalists and media practitioners in attendance under the aegis of Energy Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) and the National Association of Judicial Correspondents, Abuja (NAJUC), lauded Seplat Energy for its support and commitment to the Nigerian media, whilst calling on other corporate organizations to emulate the gesture, as all hands must be on deck to better the fortunes of the country’s media industry.
Recall that Seplat Energy had earlier conducted such media trainings, twice, for Energy and Judiciary, as well as Capital Market and Business Correspondents/Editors in Lagos.