Guest lecturers, representative of Chevron and others in a photograph during the One- Day Media Capacity Building programme
By: Odeya Ogbetuo
Chevron Nigeria limited has organised a ‘One-Day Media Capacity Building’ programme for the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Warri Correspondents’ Chapel in its determination to reach out to the public with information of the activities and programmes of the company.
Addressing the participants at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE) Auditorium in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, the Chevron General Manager Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Mr. Olusoga Oduselu said that Chevron would continue to partner with the Media for the development of the society, adding that Chevron has sponsored the Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (AWARES) programme in collaboration with the Pan Atlantic University in Lagos where over 120 journalists have benefited since the inception of the programme in 2014.
He noted that last year, the company trained over 90 journalists in Lagos, Asaba and Abuja to build the capacity of media practitioners to perform their duties.
The General Manager who was represented by Mr. Akinbola Saheed Praise said that such as AWARES and Chevron – NUJ capacity building programmes will definitely help to improve professional capacity and build lasting partnership with the media stakeholders.
According to him “We have progressed the efforts in our media capacity building for Journalists this year by training additional 90 journalists drawn from the NUJ Lagos, Abuja and Warri in Delta State. By the end of this year, this initiative would have benefitted over 180 media practitioners bringing the total to over 300 journalists who have participated in the CNL-sponsored capacity building programme.”
He affirmed that Chevron also recognized that the success of the larger society would invariably translate to success in their business, stressing that it is their long-term interest to add value to society and to create value for their stakeholders.
He acknowledged the fourth estate of the realm, stressing that their role as agenda-setting and opinion moulders can not be over- enphazised.
A lecture titled “Environmental Degradation in the Niger Delta: Responsibilities of the Mass Media in the 21st century” was delivered by Professor. Akpofure Rim-Rukeh, Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE), who urged the government to implement the environmental laws that have been enacted to protect the environment.
The lecture: Repositioning the Media for Effective and Efficient Reportage of the IOCs and Host Communities was delivered by Associate Prof. Majority Oji, HOD, Department of Mass Communication, Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, while lecture: Host Communities: Social Responsibilities of the Mass Media in the post GMoU era was delivered by DR. (MRS.) F. O. Atubi, Dept. of Social Science Education, Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka.
