NAPE tasks journalists on adequate reporting of oil and gas sector

The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Exploration, (NAPE), has urged journalists on adequate reporting of oil and gas sector.

This was disclosed by the President of NAPE, Mr. Ajibola Oyebamiji, at a one-day workshop for oil and gas media professionals in Lagos, recently.

According to him, “The fact is that exploration, appraisal, development, up to the point of sale, have three important value-chain; upstream, midstream and downstream of the E&P industry,

and you are the major component because of your accurate reporting, researching, searching for information is important so that we do not only transform from being journalists, we become stakeholders in the business.”

“It was quite interactive, various speakers covering value-chain to critical reporting. I believe we have learnt a few things from this engagement.”

Oyebanji, further explained that NAPE’s mission is to educate journalists in the oil and gas sector.

” This is one of NAPE’s mission, to educate and journalists fall under stakeholders and I assure that the training will become a regular yearly exercise.”

“We also do hope to have a training for non-professionals in the oil and gas sector where terminologies can be properly defined, little details that can help to strengthen your reporting.

Meanwhile, one of the guest lecturer, Boason Omafaye, a media practitioner, said, “As journalists, the best way to approach what we do is to think of ourselves as an economic journalists, and not oil and gas journalists.

If you’re reporting oil and gas in Nigeria, you are reporting a global industry.

“Unfortunately, reporters around the world are covering complex topics, and most times we have very little background on this, so it is important for a continued education on the technicalities of the industry, just like what NAPE is doing.

Journalists around the world, especially in developing countries like Nigeria.

“Knowledge is key, the subjects of oil and gas are technically, but we need to think critically and ask hard questions.

The most important question in journalists is ‘why’ and that is where critical thinking comes in.”

He further stressed that, “We need to get necessary information also because whatever we report or analyze is important and has impacts on over 200 million Nigerians and our position as a country within the global space.

We need to help frame the issues and help provide information that forma the dialogue, Journalists can doom a very good government development of reforms even before it gets started if we don’t think critically about It.

Even a good agenda by the government can be messed up.”