Dataphyte, PPDC organise data journalism training on investigation of COVID-19 spending

Dataphyte Nigeria and the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) is organising a one-day intensive data journalism training to investigate government spending on COVID-19.

The training is scheduled to take place on June 16, 2020.

According to Joshua Olufemi, founder of Dataphyte, the goal of the project is to increase transparency and accountability on the management of COVID-19 intervention funds in Nigeria.

He also commended the government’s decision to publish the donation and procurement data on COVID-19 funds.

“I think this is the first time the federal government has been proactive about its fiscal and contracting dealing. Before now, you would require freedom of information request before you can get the details that we have on COVID-19,” Olufemi said.

Also speaking on the project, Ifeoma Onyebuchi, programme director at PPDC, said the partnership provides an opportunity for collaboration towards supporting ongoing efforts by the government and other stakeholders in strengthening accountability mechanisms and transparency in the use and management of public resources.

While commending efforts by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) on the availability of procurement data and compliance with the recently issued guideline by the bureau of public procurement (BPP), Onyebuchi said civil society organisation (CSO) space is a key aspect of Nigeria’s democracy which provides an environment for citizens to participate in policy formulations and reforms on issues that impact lives.

The programme director added that the partnership aims at engaging journalists on Budeshi, OTP and the Nigeria open contracting portal (NOCOPO) platforms, as evidence-based feedback is essential for informed and reflective policy decisions in improving social welfare and governance.

Areas of focus include the donations by Nigerians and other funds earmarked for provision of palliatives and purchase of medical and other equipment needed in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Media partners on the project include TheCable, Business Day, Daily Trust, International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Order Paper, Premium Times, Tribune, Primorg and Signature TV.

After the training, journalists would use data on the listed portals to ascertain the implementation status of the listed projects, especially on procurements related to COVID-19 as carried out by various governments across the country.