Chuks Oyema-Aziken
Journalists covering the Ecological Project Office (EPO), have received a training to enhance effective reportage of Environmental issues in the country.
Declaring the training open in Abuja, Acting Permanent Secretary of EPO, Dr Famous Eseduwo, said that environmental challenges were increasing immensely across the country.
The Acting PS represented by Deputy Director, Press of the EPO, Mrs Eno Olotu said that the essence of the training was for effective service delivery.
He said that the training would enable the journalists to acquire more knowledge that would give room to exchange ideas and experiences as well as improvement in discharging of their duties.
A Media Communication and Public Relations Enthusiast, Mrs Frances Ben-Agande, presented paper on Media Coverage: The Impact on Organisation’s Image and Operations.
Ben-Agande said that the mission of the EPO was to serve as a strategic instrument for alleviating the challenges posed by ecological problems through efficient management.
“Therefore, having good relation with media guarantees a level of coverage that can be of great advantage to the organisation,” she said.
Ben-Agande said that the role of media was important in addressing climate change and other environmental challenges for sustainable development in the country.
According to her, the most important and critical issue confronting man today is that of environment.
“Man’s existence is threatened. The responsibility for having a clean, safe and protected environment is everybody’s business.
“The concern is how we can communicate effectively to the public on possible ways to tackle the crises.
“The better way to handle that is by creating effective awareness, through campaigns and enlightenment to elicit the right attitudes and responses to mitigate and manage the crises,” Ben-Agande.
Dr Charles Obochi, Department of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Abia, said the training would improve the participant’s competencies and skills.
Obochi, while speaking on Methodologies and Techniques for Conducting Effective Media Interview, said that the essence of the training was to improve the productivity of participants in their field.
The journalists through the Chairman, Environmental Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria, Chuks Onyema, commended the EPO for the initiative, saying the training was an opportunity to exchange ideas and knowledge from the experts.
