FCT NUJ To Revive Secondary School Press Clubs, Groom Journalists

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) is set to relaunch press clubs in public secondary schools across Abuja as part of a campaign to nurture ethical, grassroots journalism.

Announcing the initiative during an interactive session with students at Government Secondary School (GSS) Garki, NUJ FCT vice chairman, Comrade Yahaya Ndababo, said the union wanted to cultivate professional standards from the grassroots.

“Our goal is to promote professionalism from the grassroots by empowering students with journalistic skills and values early on,” Ndababo told the gathering, noting that the programme would give teenagers their first taste of ethical reporting and newsroom responsibility.

The Press Club Revival Project will officially kick off on Thursday, July 24, starting with two pilot schools in Abuja. NUJ officials said training workshops, mentorship visits from practicing journalists and inter‑school story contests will follow in the programme’s first year.

Ndababo described the project as an effort to bring up future generations committed to ethical journalism, adding that the union’s education committee was already designing a handbook on media ethics, news writing and fact‑checking for participating schools.

Representing the school leadership, matron of the GSS Garki Press Club, Mrs Udofia Emauwa Unyime, hailed the move as “timely and visionary.”

She said, “This project will ignite students’ passion for journalism, it gives them a platform to ask critical questions, hold society accountable and learn the discipline of balanced reporting.”

The revival drive forms a centrepiece of the upcoming 2025 NUJ FCT Press Week, which will feature seminars on press freedom, media development and civic responsibility under the theme “Journalism in a Changing World: Press Freedom, Media, Democracy and Society.”

NUJ leaders said the school‑club programme would eventually extend to all six area councils and private schools that express interest, creating a pipeline of trained reporters who understand both the rights and duties that come with press freedom.