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Rabi-Jibo Mohammed, Lokoja
In a id to hold government accountable to the people, an Expert with Budget Foundation, Mr. Henry Omokhaye has urged Journalists to be conversant with budget tracking and reporting.
Mr. Omokhaye gave the charge at a two day training workshop on Budget tracking and reporting organized by Stallion Times Media Service in collaboration with MacArthur Foundation in Lokoja.
He charged journalist to track and report budget, from the formulation to the last segment of preparation to ensure a budget that fulfilled peoples yearnings and aspirations.
He stressed the need for journalists to understand budgets calendar from year to year to enable citizens and stakeholders participate actively in planning process for the document to meet its aims and objectives.
Mr. Omokhaye advised Ministries Departments and Agencies to do their budget within the limited terms of allocating resources to projects,
The State Chairman of NUJ Alhaji Adeiza Momoh Jimoh commend the CEO Stallion Times for bringing the training to Kogi state saying the training would go along way in building capacity of journalist in budget tracking reporting to help build the state.
Earlier the CEO Stallion Times Services, Malam Isiaku Ahmed said the workshop was aimed at building the capacity of Journalists on budget process and procedures, train them on how to track and report Constituency as well as development and write investigative story ideas on constitution projects.
Malam Ahmed described the timing of the workshop as apt, adding that the knowledge derivable from the exercise would impact on the job of Journalists whose duty is to report government budget.
the training became necessary as it Will help Journalists play important role in the budget implementation for the social economic life of the people.
He said that in tracking and reporting budget, Journalists must have much information on the amount budgeted for certain project, how the money would be generated and spent among others for effective monitoring.
