A three-day Capacity Strengthening workshop for Media on Public Finance Management and Accountability is underway in Lagos.
The workshop organized by ActionAid Nigeria is part of the drive to change social movement and hold the government accountable to Public Finance expenditure.
At the opening of the workshop, ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Mr Andrew Mamedu, said the objective of the workshop is to enhance journalists ability to access, analyse and interpret budget and fiscal data.
The Country Director who was represented by the Head of Programme and Policy, Mr Celestine Okwudili-Odo, challenged the media to use their platform as the fourth estate of the realm to ensure that the annual increase in budget size reflects on the realities of the masses through reduction in poverty, insecurity, unemployment and gender inequalities among other challenges in the country.
“Media is a critical stakeholder to drive change as people need to be part of issues affecting their daily lives and ActionAid Nigeria targets to lift five million Nigerians out of poverty over the next ten years, hence the need to hold government accountable for implementation of its public finance expenditure to impact positively on the masses”
The ActionAid Nigeria Country Director expressed optimism that at the end of the three days of brainstorming, journalists would be more equipped for improved reportage on key issues of public service delivery and public finance for stronger fiscal policies in the extractive sector.
Participants will be taken through relevant topics including Concept of Gender Responsive Public Service, Overview of the Nigerian Fiscal Instruments, Overview of SPA 2 among others.
About forty participants from Lagos, Borno, Akwa-Ibom, Enugu and Abuja are in attendance for the workshop which will end on Friday.
Reporting by Yemisi Dada