Chevron has reaffirmed its long-term commitment to Nigeria’s socio-economic development, with renewed focus on advancing local content, strengthening community engagement and supporting sustainable energy investments.

The company’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr. Olusoga Oduselu, committed a recent capacity-building programme organised for members of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC).

Oduselu said Chevron’s strategic priorities include major gas development projects and regional infrastructure initiatives such as the West African Gas Pipeline, designed to improve energy access while fostering integration across West Africa.

He explained that the company’s investments are aligned with its broader objective of creating shared value in Nigeria while supporting the nation’s energy transition agenda and long-term economic growth.

Represented at the programme by Dr. Victor Anyaegbudike, Manager/Chief Communications Officer, Oduselu underscored the importance of continuous media capacity development in strengthening journalism, particularly within the oil and gas industry.

He also reaffirmed Chevron’s support for NAEC’s pursuit of media excellence, describing energy correspondents as critical partners in promoting transparency, accountability and informed public discourse.

Highlighting the company’s investment in journalism development, he said Chevron has sustained initiatives such as the Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (AWARES) Programme. According to him, more than 120 journalists have benefited from the programme since 2014, while over 310 journalists have received professional training across Nigeria in recent years.

Delivering a presentation titled “Nigeria’s Regulatory Environment, Global Energy Transition Trend and Media Roles in Policy Interpretation”, Dr. Charles Ebereonwu, Principal Consultant and Trainer at CETTLE Consulting Nigeria Ltd., stressed the vital role of the media in helping the public understand complex energy policies amid global transition trends and market volatility.

Ebereonwu noted that although countries are pursuing cleaner energy sources, energy security continues to be a priority, with fossil fuels maintaining a significant role, particularly in developing economies such as Nigeria.

He urged journalists to move beyond routine reporting by embracing investigative, policy-focused and data-driven journalism.

The consultant also identified key challenges confronting journalism, including inadequate in-depth reporting, political and ethnic bias, poor remuneration that affects editorial independence, and weak fact-checking practices.

Also speaking, Dr. Ganiu Okunnu, Senior Lecturer in Public Relations and Advertising at the Department of Communication and Media Studies, Lagos State University (LASU), examined the growing role of Artificial Intelligence in journalism.

He cautioned journalists against excessive reliance on AI tools, stressing that technology should complement rather than replace journalistic thinking. Okunnu added that the quality of AI-generated output depends on the quality of prompts and maintained that journalists must remain analytical, original and thorough when using the technology.

Award-winning journalist and editor Odinaka Anudu also challenged members of NAEC to strengthen investigative and data-driven reporting instead of relying solely on routine news coverage.

Anudu described data as the foundation of quality investigative journalism, noting that business journalists must go beyond corporate press releases to uncover deeper realities within the economy.

According to him, journalists should be capable of analysing corporate financial statements and annual reports.

He said, “Data reporting is essential for understanding how systems truly work, and strong investigative stories often rely on primary data generated by journalists themselves.

“If data is not mined, you will not understand the essence of what is happening,” he noted.

Source: Independent