The Yobe State Government is set to organise a media summit for mainstream and social media practitioners as well as a separate workshop for the Governor’s media assistants, as part of efforts to strengthen digital storytelling and improve communication on socio-economic development in the state.
The one-day media summit, scheduled to hold on Saturday, September 5, 2026, in Damaturu, will be organised by the Office of the Secretary to the State Government and facilitated by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Information and Culture.
With the theme “Harnessing Digital Tools for Community Impact and Engagement,” the summit is expected to provide a platform for media practitioners to exchange ideas and explore how digital tools can be effectively deployed to tell accurate and compelling stories about development and community resilience.
In a statement, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Abdullahi Bego, said about 400 participants would attend the summit, comprising journalists and editors from mainstream media organisations and social media actors drawn from the 17 local government areas of the state.
He said major media organisations operating in the state, as well as professional bodies including the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU), Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and the Correspondents’ Chapel, would be represented.
Bego said the summit was designed to help participants use digital tools more effectively to produce accurate, compelling and impactful stories on socio-economic development and resilience at the community level.
The Commissioner further disclosed that Special Assistants to the Governor on social media, including those designated as SSA Media, STA Media and SSA Photography, would not participate in the September 5 summit.
He said the government had instead scheduled a separate workshop for the Governor’s media assistants on September 1, 2026, to strengthen their capacity in digital storytelling and communication.
According to him, the separate arrangement would also allow wider participation among social media practitioners from the 17 local government areas, while ensuring that the Governor’s media assistants receive specialised training relevant to their responsibilities.
The initiative, he said, reflects the state government’s commitment under the able leadership of Governor Mai Mala Buni to strengthen the capacity of media practitioners and leveraging digital platforms to communicate development initiatives, engage communities and promote greater public understanding of government programmes.
