THE International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) and two other Nigerian media outfits have announced a partnership to report instant field reports from observers deployed by the PTCIJ for the Edo and Ondo states elections.
Mboho Eno, PTCIJ’s Programme Manager said in a statement on Friday that the partnership is ‘designed to help “deepen democratic engagement and strengthen institutions through civic and media strategies during the electoral cycle.’
According to Eno, the partnership is a loose coalition that includes the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), the Premium Times newsroom, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), The Cable and Daily Trust.
“It is basically a resource sharing initiative to help deepen the nation’s democratic gains through ensuring the accountability of the electoral process,” said Eno.
He added that the partnership is at no cost rather it is drawn out of a high sense of constitutional responsibility to extend news coverage through collaborative reporting.
Eno noted that the idea of a media coalition for election reporting is strongly located in the vision of the Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria of the European Union, (EU-SDGN), that the PTCIJ is implementing with the aim to contribute to the reinforcement of Democracy in Nigeria.
Tosin Alagbe, PTCIJ’s Programme Director said the importance of collaboration in the media, particularly around “high-value issues like elections.
“When we collaborate meaningfully like this, we can aid promoting transparency and accountability around elections in Nigeria, which are the sure paths to democratic consolidation,” said Alagbe.
Alagbe expressed her appreciation to the European Union for the EU-SDGN programme and enjoined all partners, agents and citizens alike to join in the movement to lead the country’s democracy to greater heights.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via labolade@icirnigeria.org, on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94