WikkiTimes Media and Publishing, the publishers of WikkiTimes, has graduated 10 pioneer fellows under the Professor Umaru Pate Accountability Reporting Fellowship (UPARF).
Six other early career journalists are currently selected after a thorough screening exercise to train for six consecutive months.
WikkiTimes editor, Aminu Adamu, disclosed this while presenting certificate of completion to the fellows during an investitive and data-driven journalism conference held recently at the Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State.
Mr. Adamu said the Fellowship was named after the present Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Umaru Pate, in honour of his outstanding contributions to journalism and media in Nigeria.
Launched in January 2023 to commemorate Prof Pate’s 59th birthday, WikkiTimes had so far trained 10 fellows on investigative, data and fact checking journalism.
“We have already hired three of the fellows. They are now fulltime employees of WikkiTimes,” he said.
During the 6 months paid fellowship, the young journalists had undergone expert training and mentoring which has equiped them on how to hold power to account at the subnational level.
The WikkiTimes editor, while awarding certificates to the fellows, lauded the fellows for demonstrating commitment and passion during their fellowship.
He urged them to put the knowledge they had acquired into use, adding that WikkiTimes is proud of them.
“WikkiTimes is proud to have produced confident fellows who are now ready to sail through the tides of investigative journalism. As we speak, we have retained 3 of them as our reporters. We will keep mentoring fellows with the hope that they will emulate the inspiration behind this initiative, Prof Umaru Pate,” he said.
On his part, Professor Umaru Pate commended WikkiTimes for celebrating his contribution to journalism and media.
While appreciating the team for training young minds into skillful journalists, he also promised to facilitate slots for some of the fellows to attend an international journalism conference coming up in October, in Oslo, Norway.
Hafsah Muhammed Ibrahim, one of the fellows, who expressed gratitude to WikkiTimes for the rare opportunity, pledged to make use of the learned skills in her career as a journalist.
“WikkiTimes has taught me the value of accountability, the power of storytelling, and the importance of fact-based reporting. I’ve learned from the best, worked with a talented team, and had the opportunity to make a real impact. In fact, I am now part of WikkiTimes as a staff member and a senior reporter,” she said.
