By Adamu Yusuf
The Senate Press Corps, SPC, is set to strengthen the role of the media in Nigeria’s budgetary process, legislative oversight and public accountability through a capacity-building workshop scheduled to hold on Monday, September 28.
The workshop, with the theme, “Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertions,” is expected to bring together lawmakers, budget experts, civil society organisations and media professionals.
The initiative is aimed at enhancing journalists’ understanding of the budget process and strengthening their capacity to monitor budget proposals, legislative amendments, implementation and public expenditure.
Chairman of the Senate Press Corps, Taiye Odewale, said the choice of the theme was informed by the need to strengthen the professional capacity of journalists covering the National Assembly and promote effective engagement with the legislative process.
He said effective budget oversight goes beyond the passage of the Appropriation Bill, stressing the need for sustained monitoring of budget implementation and expenditure.
According to him, the media has an important role to play in informing citizens and bringing issues of public interest to the attention of relevant authorities.
The workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to examine how journalists covering the National Assembly can better understand budgetary procedures, interrogate legislative decisions and report financial matters accurately and responsibly.
Speakers expected at the event include the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani; Director of BudgIT, Oluseun Onigbinde; and Publisher of Eagle Times Newspaper, Ikechukwu Chukwunyere.
The speakers are expected to provide perspectives from government, civil society, budget advocacy and the media on ways of strengthening accountability in Nigeria’s public finance system.
The programme will also feature a training session on the use of Artificial Intelligence, AI, tools in journalism and contemporary media practice.
The session will be facilitated by London-based instructors from Mass Media TX Limited and is expected to equip journalists with practical knowledge of emerging technologies for research, information gathering, data analysis and professional journalism.
Senior stakeholders from the National Assembly and its bureaucracy are also expected to attend the workshop, including the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio; Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin; and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu.
Others expected include Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Olamilekan Adeola; Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa; Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Senator Kawu Sumaila; and the Clerk to the National Assembly, Barrister Kamoru Ogunlana.
The convergence of lawmakers, budget specialists, civil society actors and journalists is expected to provide a platform for discussions on strengthening legislative oversight and improving media engagement with the National Assembly while preserving the media’s responsibility to scrutinise government activities and inform the public.
The Senate Press Corps says the workshop will also reinforce the importance of specialised legislative journalism in promoting transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.
The event is scheduled to hold at Hearing Room 231 on Monday, September 28, 2026.
Editing by Khadija Kubau
