The roundtable provided media professionals an avenue to share their experiences relating to story collection on the Niger Delta, as well as access to knowledge resources on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the timeline of the National Action Plan to adopt it in Nigeria.
Connected Development (CODE) has secured a working relationship with the media for her policy advocacy activities on the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR).
The commitment was the one of the highlights of a successful two-day media roundtable on the organisation's campaigns around the NAPBHR in the oil and gas sector, especially as it affects host communities and the corporate social responsibility expectation of these communities, as well as the economic, social and environmental sustainability compliance of these operators.
The event, which was organised in collaboration with Oxfam, featured presentations by Professor Damilola Olawuyi, Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development Institute at Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD); Henry Ushie of Oxfam; Kolo Kenneth Kadiri of Connected Development (CODE), among others.
The roundtable came on the heels of community outreaches to at two communities hosting oil wells and flow stations in Delta and Akwa Ibom states in the Niger Delta.
The roundtable provided media professionals an avenue to share their experiences relating to story collection on the Niger Delta, as well as access to knowledge resources on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the timeline of the National Action Plan to adopt it in Nigeria.
There were also discussions on legal instruments for regulating the oil and gas sector in Nigeria, and deliberations on a strategy for the media to work with CODE to tell human interest stories of the people of host communities, and highlight the fragility and conflict that arises from the activities of operators in their communities.
Through its 'Follow the Money' model, CODE provides marginalised and vulnerable communities with resources to amplify their voices with independence and integrity; as well as information that ushers social and economic development through online and offline platforms that close the feedback loop between citizens and the government to enhance social contracting and accountability.
Since 2012, CODE has worked in more than 100 local communities across Nigeria, The Gambia and Kenya; impacting over 1,500,000 marginalised lives by engaging national and sub-national governments; and tracked N3 billion (USD 10 million) in budgeted sums for contracts, to provide education, health and WaSH essential supplies and amenities for the communities direly in need.