By Modupe Gbadeyanka
October 7, 2016, will not erase in the memory of business reporters in Nigeria. This is because it was a day they were celebrated by a leading professional services firm, PwC Nigeria.
According to PwC Nigeria, it came up with the idea in a bid to celebrate and reward excellence in business reporting in Nigeria.
At a gala night held in Lagos, business journalists went home with a total N2.35 million at the maiden edition of PwC Media Excellence Award.
It was gathered that a total of 55 entries were submitted by journalists in four categories, namely, Tax Reporting, Capital Market Reporting, SME Reporting and Business & Economy Reporting. Winners in each of the categories went home with N500,000 each while consolation prizes of N50,000 each went to the other nominees that made top three.
Of the 55 entries received, 29 were for Business & Economy Reporting; 16 for SME Reporting; eight for Capital Market Reporting and two for Tax Reporting.
Mr Taiwo Oyedele, the PwC’s Tax Partner and Head, Tax & Regulatory Services, PwC West Africa, decried the low reportage of tax issues by Nigerian journalists saying it largely accounts for the poor awareness about tax in the country.
“It is disturbing that only two entries were received in the Tax Reporting category. This goes to show the low awareness level of tax issues in Nigeria. If the journalists who are supposed to inform and stimulate discussions on tax issues in the country are not doing so, probably because of their lack of understanding of the issues, then, the awareness level on tax would be very low among the populace.
“On our part as a corporate organisation, we are set to help resolve this problem by organising various capacity enhancement workshops for Nigeria business journalists,” Mr Oyedele said.
Mrs Simplice Gladys Olajumoke, the Deputy Vice President, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), on her part, also pledged her organisation’s support to ensure that the issue of tax dominates the Nigerian media space.
Mr Tola Ogundipe, the Deputy Senior Country Partner, PwC Nigeria, in his opening remark, said journalists have important role to play in the society as information carriers. According to him, good governance and economic independence can be achieved if the journalists ensure excellence reportage of issues that are well researched.
He urged the Nigerian journalists to always leverage on technology adding that the award was instituted to celebrate and reward excellence in business reporting.
Stanley Opara of Punch Newspapers, Collins Nwaeze of The Nation Newspapers and Abiodun Eromosele of THISDAY Newspapers were the finalists in the Capital Market Category. Eromosele won the first prize with his article titled: ‘Of The Exchange Rate and Devaluation.”
Eromo Egbejule of the Ventures Africa won the first prize in the SME Reporting Category with his article titled: ‘Walk in these shoes: Aba’s very own leather manufacturing plant’. Hannah Ojo of the Nation Newspapers and Oluwamayowa Tijani of The CableNG made top three.
Fisayo Soyombo of The CableNG; Emmanuel Ogunsola of Techpoint NG and Isaac Anyaogu of BusinessDay Newspaper were the finalists in the Business & Economy Category of which Soyombo’s article, ‘Undercover Investigation: Nigeria’s Customs of Corruption, Bribery and Forgery’, came tops.
The two entries in the tax category were from Anthony Matuluko of Tax Matters on TV and Oluwamayowa Tijani of the CableNG. Matuluko won the first prize with interview of secondary school students at the SWIT seminar
Adedapo Adesanya