By Thompson Yamput
A media consultant, Mr Stephen Salawu, has urged journalists to ensure constant monitoring and tracking of constituency projects by the executive and legislators to ensure proper delivery of such projects.
Salawu gave the charge in Lokoja on Friday at a training workshop organised by Stallion Times, a non-governmental organisation.
He said that the real reason why growth and development had been eluding most communities in Nigeria was because nobody, especially the media and citizens, cared less about budget implementation.
“Unless journalists and the public begin to ask questions as who is doing what project, in which community and how it’s started and completed, development in our communities will remain a mirage.
“We must keep monitoring, tracking with probing questions and reporting exactly what we saw, no matter who is involved, to get things done in the right way,” he said.
Salawu advised participants to do more of investigative stories that would create awareness with the intention of provoking positive reactions from the public.
According to him, the executive and legislative arms of government must be hold accountable to the people on the resources entrusted in them in accordance with the law.
Also speaking, Mr Isiyaku Ahmed, the Editor-in-Chief, Stallion Times, expressed optimistism on the impact of the training workshop on the 30 journalists in Kogi, for beautiful investigative stories on the status of constituency projects in the state.
Ahmed reminded journalists of the high expectations the public had on the media on correcting the ills of the Nigerian society with their write ups.
“Stallion Times expects you to go all out there to monitor and report exactly what’s happening with the projects of both federal and state constituencies.
“I believe that as we keep the tempo, corruption and levity will be checkmated and our communities will begin to witness some levels of growth and development,” he said.(NAN)