Nigeria is in need of a new generation of ethical communicators who can help improve the quality of information available to the public, stakeholders have said.

They made the submission at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Young Communication Fellowship (YCF) for the Ilorin cohort.

Speaking at the event, Mohammed Dahiru Lawal, Head of Investigation, Fact Checking and Special Projects at Image Merchant Promotions Limited, publishers of PRNigeria, said the fellowship was designed to groom young professionals with the knowledge, skills and ethical standards required to excel in media and communication.

Lawal, who represented the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Image Merchant Promotions Limited, Alhaji Yushau Shuaib, said the two-week intensive programme exposed the fellows to public relations, strategic communications, branding, investigative journalism, data journalism and other aspects of media practice.

"One of the key things we hope to achieve is to ensure that we groom the next generation of ethical communicators," he said.

He expressed concern over the presence of practitioners in journalism and public relations who, according to him, lack the necessary knowledge, qualifications and ethical conduct required for professional practice.

Lawal said the fellowship was structured to develop professionals who would combine knowledge with practical skills, understanding and ethical conduct in their respective fields.

He said the impact of ethical communication extended beyond the profession, particularly because of its influence on the quality of information available to citizens.

"When we have a field or a space that does not have a polluted information environment, people are empowered to take the right decision, and that tells on the economy, it tells on governance, it tells on accountability, and even tells on the strength of democracy, so to speak," he said.

Lawal urged the fellows to apply the knowledge acquired during the training to make meaningful contributions to their respective fields and society.

"My message for the graduates is that they should go ahead and apply what they have learned within this intensive two weeks in order to be able to make very impactful pathways in their various fields of endeavour and also impact on the lives of people," he said.

He charged the beneficiaries to pass the opportunity forward in their various ways.

The 2026 fellowship attracted nearly 700 applications, from which 30 fellows were selected across Abuja, Ilorin and Kano.

According to Lawal, applicants were required to be graduates of universities or polytechnics in Nigeria, have completed the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), fall within the stipulated age range and demonstrate a strong passion for careers in media, public relations or journalism.

He said the Ilorin cohort was the second batch of the 2026 programme, following the first cohort of 10 fellows in Abuja in August, while the Kano cohort would hold in October.

The fellowship also received praise from the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), which supported the initiative at its inception through the Collaborative Media Project (CMEDIA), with a grant from the MacArthur Foundation.

Executive Director of WSCIJ, Motunrayo Alaka, who delivered the keynote address at the ceremony, expressed delight that PRNigeria had sustained the programme after the funding cycle ended in 2024.

"We were there when it started with our support from the Collaborative Media Project, and we are happy to see that despite the end of the funding cycle in 2024, PRNigeria has sustained the programme at its three centres in Abuja, Kano and Kwara States," she said.

Alaka noted that the fellowship had not only continued beyond the initial grant but had also expanded into a fully residential programme, with accommodation facilities supporting participants across its three locations.

She urged the young communicators to make integrity and professionalism the foundation of their careers.

She also encouraged the fellows to combine professional competence with leadership and business knowledge, stressing that continuous learning and curiosity were crucial in a rapidly changing media environment.

Representing the Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Kwara State Chapter, DSP Sani Suleiman of the Nigeria Customs Service, commended PRNigeria for creating a platform through which young professionals could acquire practical communication skills.

He urged the graduating fellows to build on the knowledge and experience gained during the programme and uphold its values in their respective careers.

Suleiman described the fellowship as an investment in developing the next generation of media and communication professionals.

The two-week Ilorin programme combined classroom sessions with practical exercises, field excursions, institutional engagements, individual and group assignments and project-based activities.

The curriculum covered journalism, public relations and strategic communication, newsroom and editorial practices, feature writing, solutions journalism, data journalism, fact-checking, investigative journalism and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), among other areas.

As part of the experiential component, the fellows visited prominent newsrooms and media organisations in Kwara State and undertook institutional tours designed to expose them to professional practices beyond the classroom.

The cohort also paid a special visit to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, as part of engagements connecting the fellows with traditional institutions and community leadership.

The closing ceremony featured recognition of outstanding participants, with Adegbite Anuoluwapo Rafat emerging as the Best Fellow of the 2026 Ilorin Cohort, while Fashola Abayomi Olawalarami was recognised as Team Lead.