Wole Soyinka Centre to launch regulators monitoring programme

The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) says it will launch the Regulators Monitoring Programme (REMOP) at its a lecture to mark the 83rd birthday of Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate and literary icon.

In a statement on Monday, Motunrayo Alaka, coordinator of the center, said REMOP is conceived as a media initiative geared at reporting the activities of regulators.

She said the programme would hold at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, by 10am on July 13.

“The annual lecture will this year mark Wole Soyinka’s 83rd birthday. It is themed, “Light Up, Light In: Interrogating the nexus between electricity and basic education in Nigeria,” the statement read.

“The event seeks to contribute to strategic thinking and provide a veritable opportunity to raise critical questions and national debate on issues surrounding basic education (Sustainable Development Goal 4) and electric power availability and affordability (Sustainable Development Goal 7) in the country; ranging from the importance of the sectors to development, to the relationship between them, to issues of standard, to the challenges with politics, to the depth of media reportage of the issues, among others.

“The MacArthur Foundation supports the pilot phase of the programme with focus on electricity and basic education.

“Other activities lined up for REMOP include, a three-month monitoring of twelve newspapers, the publication of status and annual reports on UBEC and NERC, stakeholders’ meetings, capacity development activities for reporters and students of journalism, investigative reporting projects and social media campaign, on the issue of regulation as it relates to electricity and basic education.

“Admittance to the lecture event, which will be moderated by Alkasim Abdulkadir, a journalist and the director of Victims Support Fund, is open to the media, industry experts, private sector leaders, government ministries and agencies, pressure groups, policy makers, students, members of the diplomatic corps and other stakeholders in the civil society.

“Hamid Bobboyi, Universal Basic Education (UBEC) Executive Secretary, Anthony Akah, acting chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Edward Kallon, United Nations, Humanitarian Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative, Senior Economic Advisor, African Economic Development Policy Initiative, Obiageli Ezekwesili, Olabisi Obadofin, Professor of Counselling Psychology, Lagos State University (LASU), Gbemiga Ogunleye, Provost, Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) and Imeh Okan, project manager, USAID Energy,  Power Africa Nigeria, will be examining the nexus between electricity and basic education at the Ninth Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series.”