Education
Energy journalists urged to embrace accountability reporting – EnviroNews
– Advertisement –
A media veteran, Mr. Martins Oloja, has urged Nigerian energy journalists to embrace accountability journalism by investigating public spending, verifying official claims and demanding transparency in the oil and gas sector.
Oloja, a former Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian, made the call on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, in Lagos at a capacity-building programme for journalists and media stakeholders.
The programme was organised by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) with the theme: “Effective Journalism and Reporting in the Oil and Gas Sector”.
Speaking on the topic, “Covering, not Covering Up: Accountability Journalism for Energy Reporters in Nigeria”, Oloja said journalists must go beyond reporting official statements and embrace evidence-based investigative journalism.
According to him, many reports merely reproduce statements issued by government officials and agencies without verifying the facts or holding public institutions accountable.
He described the practice as “covering up by omission”, stressing that journalism should serve the public interest through independent verification and investigative reporting.
Oloja urged journalists to scrutinise the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries by seeking access to audit reports, Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts, project milestones and completion certificates.
He advised reporters to track public expenditure, identify officials responsible for approving projects, visit project sites and independently verify the level of implementation instead of relying solely on official briefings.
The media veteran also encouraged journalists to utilise the Freedom of Information Act to obtain government records, analyse refinery throughput data and compare official claims with actual operational performance.
He urged energy correspondents to develop timelines for major projects to identify inconsistencies in official announcements and monitor implementation.
Oloja also called on journalists to investigate issues relating to domestic crude supply, refinery operations, fuel imports, subsidy expenditure, crude oil theft and the environmental impact of oil exploration on host communities.
According to him, sustained reporting on these issues will enhance transparency and strengthen public accountability in Nigeria’s energy sector.
He further encouraged journalists to collaborate on investigative projects, establish specialised energy publications and leverage data journalism and artificial intelligence tools to improve reporting.
Oloja urged media practitioners to remain committed to the public interest in spite of operational challenges, insisting that journalism’s primary responsibility was to provide citizens with accurate, factual and verified information.
“News is what somebody somewhere is trying to hide; the rest is advertising.
“Don’t come together to bring down government. Don’t come together to fight another organisation. Come together to enlighten,” he said.
By Emmanuella Anokam
