Daily Trust’s reporters win oil award, MTN fellowship

Daily Trust’s report captioned “Oil Curse: Bayelsa Communities Agonise Over Livelihoods Loss, Health Hazards” has won an award at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

The report on the oil and gas sector was adjudged the best during the just concluded 10th Edition of the Bayelsa Media Award (BMA).

The report written by the Correspondent of Daily Trust Newspaper in Bayelsa State, Bassey Willie, and published on June 15, 2022, is an investigative story on the plight of the rural residents of Bayelsa who despite the exploration of crude oil in their communities suffered various environmental hazards.

The yearly award, which is packaged by Sqilful Konseptz and powered by the NCDMB and Bayelsa State government, is to celebrate professionalism and excellence.

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Bassey had previously won the best reporter award in 2022.

He went home with the prize money and a HP laptop donated by the NCDMB.

Speaking on the theme of this year’s BMA award, which was “Dissecting the Role of Media in the Political and Economic Trajectory of Bayelsa State”, Chairman of Bayelsa State Council of Chiefs and Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom, King Bubaraye Dakolo, urged media to always endeavour to project the good image of the state and Niger Delta as whole instead of creating fears in their reportage.

Also, an Assistant Editor of Daily Trust, Abbas Jimoh, has emerged as one of the fellows for the second edition of the MTN sponsored Media Innovation Programme (MIP) run by the School of Media and Communications of Pan-Atlantic University, Lekki, Lagos State.

Jimoh was selected alongside 19 other media practitioners from across Nigeria for the programme among over 2,700 applicants.

Launched in 2022, the six-month fully funded certificate fellowship aims to build the capacity of media practitioners in Nigeria and promote their understanding of the rapidly changing media landscape.

The MTN-MIP seeks to expose fellows and empower media practitioners with the knowledge to transform their industry, especially in the ever-changing technological world.

At the end of the six months of training, the fellows will have a greater understanding of Nigeria’s technology sector and the nexus between media and technology.

Speaking on the programme, Tobechukwu Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services Officer, MTN Nigeria, said, “The modern media practitioner needs to remain innovative, which is the essence of the MIP. We have seen the impact of the programme among media practitioners and are motivated by the value this cohort will bring to media practice in Nigeria.”

The programme also includes a certificate fellowship, a study visit to the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa as well as to MTN Group Headquarters.