Nigerian journalists gather to discuss welfare

A round table discussion around the welfare of Nigerian journalists will hold in Abuja, Tuesday, August 28.

Event organisers, the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism and the Coalition of Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF), said in a release on Friday that a social media campaign with the same purpose will hold earlier in the day.

Spokesperson for the organisers, Stephanie Adams, said the “campaign is to advocate for and highlight the welfare status of journalists in Nigeria while seeking new creative responses for better working conditions of service for journalists, including welfare provisions for journalists and their families in the event of proven cases of extreme hardship and neglect by their employers.”

Commenting on the current sorry state of journalists’ welfare, the coalition identified poor remuneration as one of the biggest challenges facing the industry today.

The coalition said it believed this was an effect of the revenue crisis facing the industry; adding to that, the “wider ramifications of the problem is that most media organisations also do not pay salaries, as well as benefits like pension, insurance and other statutory requirements like tax remittances”.

The coalition said it hopes the campaign will create a positive impact on Nigerian journalists by helping find ways of restoring the dignity of journalists as well as help lobby and advocate for a better welfare for members.

The Civic Innovation Lab in Wuse2, Abuja is the venue of the round table discussion which is expected to start at 9 a.m. Attendance is strictly by registration.