By Asile Abel,Jos

FrontFoot Media Initiative has concluded plans to hold the fifth edition of its Audit Reporting Training programme for journalists to be hosted in Gombe State.

Statement by the Front Foot Media Initiative Training Coordinator Mr Chido Nwakanma said previous trainings were held in Benin, Awka, Abuja, and Lagos state.

He added that, FrontFoot Media Initiative will hold the training under the auspices of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism and the sponsorship of the MacArthur Foundation.

Mr Emeka Izeze, a director of FrontFoot Media, said “The Gombe programme will feature participants not only from Gombe but also from the neighbouring states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau, and Taraba, a testament to the inclusivity and reach of Front Foot’s training initiatives. We look forward to training about 40 media personnel, each of whom plays a crucial role in our media landscape.”

Adding to the statement, Gombe State Governor, Muhammed Inuwa Yahaya would address participants in line with his agenda of openness and accountability.

Frontfoot Media Initiative also announced that Mr Ismaila Zakari, a past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, an Internal Auditor of Premium Pensions Abuja, and an ICAN Fellow, will lead the training supported by Mr Yusuf Doma, a Fellow of ICAN and Internal Auditor at Premium Pensions Abuja. Their expertise and guidance will ensure a high-quality learning experience for all participants.

The media and capacity building NGO described the programme as “a flagship capacity development programme of FrontFoot Media Initiative. It is a Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability project.

“In this effort, FrontFoot teams, accompanied by experts in the field, work in pre-selected states where they conduct free training for journalists. Participants learn how and where to locate the relevant reports, interpret the material, and write engaging news stories and features that enlighten, stimulate, and empower the electorate, and discourage impunity.” the statement added.

A military contemporary of Nigeria’s former military President, Lieutenant General Garba Duba, has died.

General Garba Duba died at the age of 82. A native of Kontagora, Niger State, Duba held several positions during his military career, including serving as Governor of Bauchi State in 1978 and as Governor of Sokoto State during Buhari’s regime.

An impeccable source told NIGERIAN TRACKER that the funeral prayer for the late Duba was held today, Friday, after Jumuat prayer at the National Mosque in Abuja.

Governor Muhammad Umar Bago of Niger State and legislators from the state attended the funeral prayer.

He joined the army as a Cadet Officer at the Nigerian Military Training College Zaria in 1962, presumably a course mate of Ibrahim Babangida. At the beginning of his career, he was at the Indian Military Academy. Duba was one of the northern officers who participated in the Nigerian counter-coup of 1966 which led to the death of General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi. During the Nigeria Civil War, he was a Captain, commanding a squadron of armored vehicles. As military governor of Bauchi state, he provided infrastructure in the form of residential accommodation and offices, including secretariats for the newly-created 16 local government areas.

In 1993, he retired from the military and went into private businesses where he held positions like chairman, New Nigerian Development Company (NNDC), chairman of SGI Nigeria Limited, director in First Bank of Nigeria, non-executive director of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc and chairman of the board of Leadway pension fund.

All arrangements have been concluded for the Second Extraordinary Session of the Sixth Legislature of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to be held in Kano, Nigeria.

The Second Extraordinary Session, according to the ECOWAS Parliament, will be held at the Bristol Hotel in Kano, the Commercial Centre of the country, between the 20th and 25th May, 2024.

President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, attended the inaugural session of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament held on April 4, this year.

The Deputy President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Barau I Jibrin, emerged as the First Deputy Speaker of the assembly during the inauguration.

The event, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, will attract parliamentarians from Nigeria, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote D’ Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Republic of Togo.

The ECOWAS Parliament, also known as the Community Parliament, is one of the institutions of the ECOWAS. It is the Assembly of Peoples of the Community, serving as a forum of dialogue, consultation and consensus for representatives of the people of West Africa to promote integration.

In a statement signed by special adviser to Senate President on Media and publicity Ismail Mudassir said the ECOWAS Parliament which was established under Articles 6 and 13 of the ECOWAS revised treaty of 1993, is composed of 115 seats.