By JACINTA NWACHUKWU

An NGO, Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), has announced the grant of 4,000 dollars (about N600 million) to aid investigative reporting on government?s transparency and accountability in governance.

The Chief Executive Officer of PPDC, Mrs Lucy Abagi, made the announcement on Monday in Abuja at a media convening on ?Strengthening Civic Voices: The Role of CSOs and Media in Driving Transparency?.

Abagi said that the initiative was aimed at supporting no fewer than five media practitioners to conduct investigative reports on stories that aligned with transparency and accountability across communities.

According to her, the reports should be able to expose untold stories, issues and challenges across communities, why projects are not implemented and issues with funds not being used for what they were initially meant for, among others.

?What are the issues with people not accessing justice? What are the issues with people not being able to get legal representation? How long does an inmate stay in prison without access to the four corners of the courtroom?

?It is very important to know that in as much as PPDC is driving transnational accountability, our work is based on data and storytelling.

?It aims at transforming complex issues to what citizens can easily relate with and what our government officials can use to inform policy debates and policy reforms.

?So we have looked very deeply and I?ve seen that we need more investigative reporting as to the issues across communities, procurement governance and access to justice,? she said.

Abagi said that the portal would be launched in the next 30 days for media partners and individuals to apply for the grant, expressing the hope that it will be used for the set purpose.

?So we want journalists to be able to dig deeper and come up with stories that reflect, or come up with news, evidence-based data that reflects the key issues underlying these challenges that we?ve highlighted,? she stated.

Also speaking, the Communication Manager of PPDC, Nnenna Eze, said that the initiative was about building partnerships that would turn information into influence and stories into sustained public pressure, for transparency and accountability.

Eze noted that the launch of the investigative journalism grant to enhance rigorous reporting that would go beyond surface claims, follow accountability trails and bring to light governance challenges that mattered to everyday people.

?We don?t just want stories told; we want stories that provoke questions, spark dialogue and push for follow-through,? she said. (NAN)

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