Education
MADWITHNAEC 2026: Sahara Group engages NAEC members in second pre-conference training – EnviroNews
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For the second consecutive year, Sahara Group has engaged members of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) in a pre-conference training programme ahead of the 2026 NAEC Energy Conference.
The programme focused on championing excellence and sustainability in energy reporting, as part of efforts to promote continuous learning, professional development and better energy journalism.
The #MADWITHNAEC 2026 training, themed “Beyond the Barrels: The Energy Story Behind the Story,” was held at the Ikeja Electric Business Unit in Lagos.
The capacity-building programme, which is now an annual event, focused on strengthening energy reporting by encouraging journalists to look beyond press releases, figures and headlines to understand the real issues behind developments in the sector.
Bethel Obioma, Head, Corporate Communications, Sahara Group, anchored the first session, themed “The Communications Imperative: Nigeria Needs Journalism That Makes the System Intelligible.”
In his presentation, he stated that every energy licence, investment, oil spill, electricity tariff, discovery and reform enters a public contest of interpretation.
He emphasised that without proper context, complexity becomes confusion, and confusion becomes suspicion. Without trust, facts struggle to travel and reforms struggle to land, and without understanding, stakeholders cannot mobilise around shared outcomes.
He noted that it is therefore the mandate of journalists to source their material deeply, interrogate claims, demand accountability, examine responses and shape public understanding.
Speaking on the use of artificial intelligence, he highlighted the signs that give away machine-made reporting, including fluent prose with little original reporting and precise claims without a source trail.
He urged journalists not to ask AI to tell the story, but to use it as a tool that helps them find what must still be reported, without over-relying on it.
Obioma also encouraged journalists to carry out proper research, ask critical questions, verify facts and develop their own understanding of energy issues.
Accoding to him, “While AI can assist journalists, it should not replace professional judgment, field reporting and independent verification.”
Speaking on the initiative, a representative of Sahara Group said the training is meant to improve journalists’ craft and enhance their knowledge, and expressed gladness that the conversations would spur a better understanding of the entire energy industry.
He said the programme started last year, and that more training opportunities, including master classes for energy correspondents across Nigeria, will continue to be introduced.
Obioma added that similar programmes are being run in other African countries where the company operates, and that a similar session has already been held for energy correspondents in Ghana.
Archibong Ubom, Studies Lead, Sahara Group, in the second part of the training examined the hydrocarbon value chain under the title “What Happened Behind the Barrels,” focused on insights into what goes on behind the barrels.
His presentation focused on regulators, technical knowledge and accurate reporting, stressing that energy reporters must learn how the sector works and be able to identify important details from the beginning of a story.
Ubom encouraged energy journalists to understand the energy value chain, stating that energy reporting becomes stronger when journalists understand exploration, production, processing, transportation, trading, distribution and end use.
He emphasised that each stage has its own technical, commercial, environmental and operational realities, and that reporting only one part of the chain can create an incomplete picture of the sector.
According to him, a barrel of oil represents more than output. It reflects geological studies, engineering decisions, project planning and investment, safety systems, field operations and regulatory processes.
He said, “The story behind the story, is often found in the work people do before energy reaches the market.”
Ubom stated that the energy industry is a highly technical sector, so small errors in reporting can lead to public misunderstanding.
“Terms such as reserves, production, capacity, output, gas commercialisation, energy transition and sustainability, he said, should be used accurately,” he noted.
According to him, “Journalists, do not need become and engineer or geologists to understand technical subjects, they only need enough technical grounding to ask the right questions and interpret information responsibly, so they can properly interrogate information, identify inaccuracies and explain complex energy developments in simple language.
“To tell the energy story, we must understand the work that happens before the headline. Journalists must be able to explain the why behind the numbers, policies and projects. .
“When journalists understand the sector better, he said, the public gets clearer information, businesses are better understood and policy conversation improves,” he said.
Ubom, Studies Lead, Sahara Group therefore emphasised that Sahara Group is using #MADWITHNAEC to deepen energy knowledge, support responsible reporting and strengthen links between industry expertise and public understanding.
The NAEC Chairman, Ugo Amadi, commended Sahara Group for its continued partnership with the association and energy correspondents.
According to him, beyond the learning, the programme strengthened networking among energy correspondents.
“It gave Sahara, as a major player in the industry, a chance to interact directly with journalists to exchange ideas and build stronger relationships, in pursuit of better, deeper and more credible energy journalism,” he said.
The NAEC Chairman noted that one of the key takeaways from the pre-conference workshop was the need for journalists to tell original stories without depending entirely on AI.
Amadi assured that NAEC would remain a strong partner in ensuring accurate, fact-based reportage to improve the energy sector.
