For his report on how government institutions mismanaged ₦ 1.69 Billion COVID-19 funds, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) on Friday announced Aderemi Ojekunle of Dataphyte as one of the winners of the centre’s prize for pandemic reporting.
Aderemi made it to the 3rd place under the Transparency, Crime and Corruption category out of 672 entries from 25 countries after exposing how the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) spent ₦5,600 on one unit of hand sanitiser (500ml) for a procurement deal worth ₦5.6 million with incomplete descriptions and vague transactions.
Aside FRSC, the report also unearthed how National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) spent ₦1.36 billion (80% of the total), NCDC spent ₦42.16 million, NSCDC spent ₦170.7 million, Ministry of Health spent ₦86.63 million, while FRSC spent ₦32.26 million. All with bogus transaction details.
According to Stella Roque, ICFJ Director of Community Engagement, winners of the reporting contest are members of the ICFJ Global Health Crisis Reporting Forum, an initiative that connects journalists covering the COVID-19 crisis with experts and resources. Judges selected the winners from 672 entries and evaluated them based on the reporting rigour, data and multimedia utilisation, and overall storytelling. The winning journalists will receive cash prizes.
“This reporting contest showed us the breadth of the coverage journalists in the ICFJ network is providing to their communities about the pandemic, a crisis that has touched us all. Despite misinformation, declining newsroom revenue and even attacks on journalists, reporters worldwide are providing accurate and life-saving information on COVID-19. We congratulate our winners on their excellent coverage.”Stella Roque, ICFJ Director of Community Engagement
In a press statement on its website, the centre explained how the winning entries explained complicated science, revealed pandemic-related corruption and exposed inequalities that have harmed society’s most vulnerable.
First, second and third place winners were selected across three categories for reporting in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. The story categories were science and health; transparency, crime and corruption; and inequality, business and economics.
Last year, Aderemi Ojekunle emerged as first runner up (Tax category) in the PwC Media Excellence Award for his story on SUKUK Bond Issuance in Nigeria. He was also part of a few journalists who tracked the Nigerian Government’s COVID-19 spendings. His numerous reports earned him a place as a Speaker at the 2020 African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC)- an annual conference hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
He recently concluded a four-month-long Atupa Media Fellowship, a financial journalism programme supported by BudgIT, Civic Hive, and the United States’ Consulate in Lagos.
Aderemi is also leading Dataphyte’s recent COVID-19 data journalism research on the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on food prices amid decreasing purchasing power in Nigeria. The John S. Knight (JSK) Fellowships at Stanford University and Big Local News supported the project.
His critical reporting since he joined Dataphyte has fetched him reporting training and grants from Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), Thomas Reuters Foundation (TRI), and as Future Climate For Africa (FCFA).