Supreme Audit Institution, also known as the Office of Auditor-General is the foremost accountability institution, and Sections 125-127 of the Nigerian Constitution provide for the powers and functions of the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee at the subnational level. While these institutions have the most potential to promote accountability, prevent corruption, and improve service delivery to citizens, the lack of access to full audit reports of the Auditors-General in many state and local governments of the federation is largely responsible for the poor participation of citizen groups, civil society, and media actors in leveraging public audit information to investigate and expose corruption. This has also hindered civic actors from mobilizing to demand accountability and advocate for policy changes that support anti-corruption and oversight institutions to prevent, detect, and punish corruption.
Furthermore, inadequate citizen participation in the Nigerian public audit process and insufficient civic engagement with public officials and elected representatives using audit data continue to be major obstacles to fostering public accountability at the subnational level in Nigeria. State assemblies have been predominantly ineffective in acting on the findings of the Auditors-General to strengthen accountability and punish corruption. Several findings contained in previous audit reports of state and local governments have not been conclusively considered by Parliament, nor have they been acted upon by anti-corruption bodies, leaving executive agencies in many states to continue the path of corruption and lack of accountability regarding the use of public resources.
PLSI, through its MacArthur Foundation-funded project to strengthen public audit practices and accountability at the state level in Nigeria, is implementing a Public Audit Media Fellowship to assist independent media actors in using audit data to investigate, report, and expose corruption at the subnational level in Nigeria.
This media fellowship will identify and train 10 journalists (two each) from five geopolitical zones of Nigeria (aside from North Central) on how to use public audit information combined with creative communication and data-driven storytelling skills to investigate, report, and expose corruption at the subnational level in Nigeria. The media fellowship is focused on one state in each geo-political zone being considered, and the specific states include: South East – Anambra State; South South – Delta State; South West – Ekiti State; North West – Kaduna State; and North East – Yobe State.
The Fellowship will run for four weeks (seven days in the first three weeks (virtual) and two days in the fourth week (physical) in Abuja, Nigeria). Fellows will be onboarded in October 2023.
Selected fellows would be supported to analyze annual audit reports of state governments, track public spending with potential for corruption, and investigate such spending with a view to exposing tendencies or reporting acts of corruption for possible sanction by relevant authorities. The 10 investigative stories developed from the media fellowship will be published via the medium in which the fellows work.
Location:
NigeriaBenefits
- PLSI will provide an N30,000 stipend to cover virtual training logistics.
- PLSI will also cover costs (return ticket – economy class, accommodation, and per diem) relating to the two days’ onsite training in Abuja.
- PLSI will provide the sum of N100,000 to each fellow to support story coverage and logistics. They will also hold rounds of engagements with stakeholders on the ideas to receive feedback and potential support.
- PLSI does not guarantee the publishing of stories in the Nigerian dailies, as applicants are ideally full-time writers, print, radio, or broadcast journalists, filmmakers, bloggers, or other media makers with well-established records of publication, dissemination, or broadcast in local, regional, or national markets, or among targeted audiences or constituencies.
Eligibilities
- This media fellowship will identify and train 10 journalists (two each) from five geopolitical zones of Nigeria (aside from North Central) on how to use public audit information combined with creative communication and data-driven storytelling skills to investigate, report, and expose corruption at the subnational level in Nigeria.
- The media fellowship is focused on one state in each geo-political zone being considered, and the specific states include: South East – Anambra State; South South – Delta State; South West – Ekiti State; North West – Kaduna State; and North East – Yobe State.
- The project will be monitored based on the metrics PLSI has set to achieve with the project.
- First, PLSI will measure the number of fellows trained and their spread to establish if they have achieved inclusion, region, and gender balance.
- PLSI will also count on achieving the training sessions planned for this project and 10 data-driven stories using audit data.
- PLSI will also measure the feedback of the fellows on how the program is helpful or otherwise to their career, and they will track citizens’ impressions on the stories that the fellows would publish.
Application Process
- To apply, go to the apply link and fill out the form with all the required information.
- The application starts on September 25, 2023 (noon WAT) and will end on October 6, 2023 (5:00 p.m. WAT). PLSI projects that the Public Audit Media Fellowship should be able to accommodate 10 investigative/media journalists from the pool of applications received from the open call in the first cohort.
- Due to the number of expected applications, PLSI will conduct reviews and interviews from October 6 – 12, 2023. Reviews will be done by their selected team of judges, which includes experienced civil society leaders and experienced investigative journalists.
- Selected fellows will be announced on October 13, 2023. Fellows will be informed earlier to ensure media materials (Bio, photograph etc.) are provided for the announcement. The Public Audit Media Fellowship session for cohorts 1 and 2 will run from October 2023 and end in December 2023.
Application Deadline: October 6, 2023
Application ClosedOfficial link
