A Dataphyte investigative story from its Anfani portal has won the best budgetary procurement tracking story at the Alfred Opubor Awards organised by the Center for Journalism, Innovation, and Development (CJID) for student journalists.
The report, ‘How Abandoned Road Endangers Life of Commuters in Maiduguri Community’ by Imran Ridwan was selected as the best budgetary procurement tracking story at the Next-Gen Alfred Opubor Awards organised by the Center for Journalism, Innovation, and Development (CJID) on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.
The award, presented by Netherlands Ambassador, Bent Van Loosdrecht, and the CJID’s Deputy Director, Journalism, Mrs Busola Ajibola, was announced during the closeout dinner of the CJID’s Media Development Conference 2024.
In addition to the award, a cash prize of N150,000 was given to the winner.
The awardee, Imran Ridwan, is a 500-level Law student at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State. He expressed profound satisfaction after winning the budgetary procurement tracking story category award.
According to him, winning the award gave him hope and it is a game-changer for him as a student journalist.
He said, ‘‘It was a great privilege to have won the award. I feel fulfilled with the kind of work I do and its impact. The most thrilling moment was when my Dataphyte-supported story was presented as the best budgetary procurement tracking story.
“The idea from Dataphyte’s beneficial ownership portal helped me in shaping the kind of story I ought to tell. I’m glad it yielded a positive result. The award is an evidence of hard work and consistency”
‘‘The story was born due to supervision by the editor, Miss Kafilat Taiwo, who guided with the application of data and visualizations to give insights.
“I am glad my efforts are being acknowledged, and I enjoy sharing people’s stories,” he added. I am proud of my accomplishments. The efforts were not in vain”.
