Credible media key to political accountability – MTG chairman, Yusuf, Ezekwesili

The chairman of Media Trust Group (MTG), owner of Daily Trust, Trust TV, Trust Radio and other platforms, Mallam Kabiru A. Yusuf, has said the ability of the media to hold the government responsible for its policies is key to achieving political accountability.

He said this on Saturday in Abuja at a media roundtable titled, The Accountability Imperative: Why and How to Hold Politicians’ Feet to the Fire.’

The event was organised by FrontFoot Media Initiative, in collaboration with the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism and the McArthur Foundation.

Yusuf said too much respect for those occupying political offices by everyone, including journalists, had reduced accountability.

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He said that for the media to hold the government accountable, it must first redeem itself.

“Too much respect for power or titles is affecting accountability. It is not the fault of the journalist, everyone does it. Journalists, who are supposed to do their jobs, are influenced by this.

“We (the media) need to hold the politicians’ feet to the fire. Sometimes they hide their feet, but we have to find them because that’s our only hope of making sure we have some semblance of democracy in this country.

“The only way to call these politicians to account is to build a media that is very credible; and I think it can be done. The private media must have the capacity to pay salaries, even if the government of the day goes after them,” he said.

A former minister of education, Obiageli Ezekwesili also said, “The media is central to the development of a society. The people mostly feared by politicians are journalists, so they should always demand accountability from people occupying government offices because the constitution empowers them to do so.”

Meanwhile, audit experts have urged President Bola Tinubu to sign the Federal Audit Service Bill to replace the 1956 Act and as well, update federal government’s accounts last audited in 2019

Mr Ismaila Muhammadu Zakari, a past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), led a team of other experts who called on the president to ensure speedy assent to the bill the National Assembly passed in March 2023.

Other audit experts who spoke on Thursday at the third Audit Reporting Training organised by FrontFoot Media Initiative include Mr Babatunde Kolawole, ICAN Fellow and a partner at HLB Z.O. Ososanya and Mr Yusuf Doma, ICAN Fellow and Head of Internal Audit at Premium Pension Limited, Abuja, and Mrs Umeshie Bernadine Anikwe, an accountant and educationist.

FrontFoot Media Initiative said the Audit Reporting Training was its flagship capacity development programme to promote democracy by equipping the media with skills and the ability to report on the mandatory state and federal audit reports.