Ahead of the 2023 General Elections, the United States Consulate in Nigeria, has trained 150 media professionals in election reporting.
It was reported that the two-day session for the South-South geopolitical zone was concluded on Wednesday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The US Consulate General, Will Stevens, who spoke at the event through video conference, assured of the support of the US government to deepen democracy in Nigeria.
Stevens was represented by the U.S. Consulate Public Affairs Officer, Joe Kruzich.
Stevens said the Election Reporting Project (ERP), is an intervention project supported by the US Consulate to support Nigerian journalists, videographers and photojournalists to adequately cover the 2023 elections.
He noted that the ERP is part of the US Consulate’s continued support for the growth of democracy in Nigeria, in partnership with the West Africa Broadcast and Media Academy and the Enugu Literary Society.
The lead facilitator is the Dean, School of Communication and Chair, Department of Radio, Television and Films, Texas Southern University, Houston (USA), Prof. Chris Ulasi.
Other facilitators include former Dean of Communications, Lagos State University, Prof. Lai Oso and an investigative reporter with the Associated Press, Grace Ekpu.
Ulasi, a Nigerian university don based in the US, noted that global attention is on Nigeria and urged journalists to effectively report the electoral process in a professional way.
The ongoing workshop sessions across the geopolitical zones, which drew participants from broadcast, print and online journalism, had earlier been conducted in Ibadan, while the Lagos session will commence on November 24.