General News
Parliamentary Journalism: Akpabio Demands Accuracy, Thoroughness
The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has tasked journalists covering the Senate to set the highest standard for parliamentary reporting in Nigeria.
Akpabio gave the charge to parliamentary reporters on Monday at the 2026 Capacity-Building Workshop organised by the Senate Press Corps.
He urged the journalists to set the standard, adding that they must know the Constitution and the rules of the institution they cover.
Represented by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, Akpabio said the theme of the workshop, “Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertions,” goes to the heart of representative government.
“Parliament must guard the public purse, the press must illuminate the public record and both must answer to the Nigerian people from whom all public authority comes,” he said.
He added that parliamentary journalism demands and requires being very thorough and careful because while sensational claims are rewarded immediately, careful corrections often reach fewer people.
He said Nigeria needs reporting strong enough to withstand scrutiny.
“We face real hardships and disagreements, and the public deserves facts that help us confront them.
“Exposing failure can be an act of service to the Nation. So can resisting the temptation to present conjecture as fact. Patriotism asks us both to tell the truth about our country and to care what happens to it.”
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; the Director of BudgIT, Mr Oluseun Onigbinde; the Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Mallam Auwal Musa Rafsanjani; and the Publisher of Eagle Times Newspaper, Mr Ikechukwu Chukwunyere, made different paper presentations at the workshop.