Neptune Prime, Yobe First Movement to Train Citizen Reporters on Social Media Use

By Baba Dan’Iya

Neptune Network Nigeria Limited (NNNL), publishers of Neptune Prime and Neptune Hausa, in partnership with Yobe First Movement, will on Wednesday commence a Zonal Engagement and Training on Citizen Reporting and Information Dissemination through Social Media in Potiskum, Yobe State.

This was made known in a statement signed by the Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of NNNL, Malam Hassan Gimba.

The training, which is scheduled to hold in Potiskum, will bring together representatives of 20 civil society organisations from Potiskum, Fika, Fune, and Nangere Local Government Areas of the state.

According to the statement, the engagement is designed to build the capacity of participants in citizen journalism and the strategic use of social media for advocacy and governance accountability.

Gimba stated that the training would feature hands-on sessions aimed at empowering participants to document and disseminate real-time developments, identify policy gaps, and promote transparency in governance.

He added that the Potiskum event would serve as a pilot phase, with plans underway to replicate the initiative across all zones of the state.

Resource persons expected at the training include Dr Ahmed Mohammed Bedu, a communications expert and former chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Yobe State chapter, who currently lectures at the University of Maiduguri.

Also on the faculty are Dr Saleh Mari Maina, a veteran journalist and lecturer at the Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Abuja and Bayero University Kano, as well as Baba Ahmed University, Kano.

Others are Malam Abubakar Ahmed, a retired deputy director with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), and Dr Furera Bagel, a linguistics lecturer at Bauchi State University.