The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria has hosted the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Zaria unit and provided training opportunities to enhance the skills of journalists covering the area, thereby upscaling their professionalism.

Ahmed Adamu, the vice-chancellor of the university, who received the executive members of the NUJ Zaria Unit on Thursday in Zaria, where he reeled out the largesse.

Mr Adamu, who responded to the union’s request, asked the organisation to formally outline the kind of training required for proper arrangements and approval.

The vice-chancellor, who described journalists as one of the university’s strategic partners, urged them to redouble their efforts by reporting on the tangible achievements the university had recently recorded.

He recalled the institution’s feat in the global ranking, which had significantly improved, and the JAMB mega prize of N500 million it had received, lamenting that it was not widely disseminated.

Earlier, Sagir Awwal, the chairman of the unit, praised the university for its academic excellence, stating that its remarkable contributions to Nigeria’s development were truly remarkable.

He stated that there had been a good working relationship between the university and journalists in Zaria, and that the union was looking forward to a more productive one.

Mr Awwal also said they would continue to discharge their responsibilities professionally in promoting the academic activities of the university.

“Essentially, this visit is to foster the long-standing ties between the university and the union with a view to improving its coverage,” he said.

The unit chairman, who restated the need for training and retraining of journalists, urged the university to organise regular training sessions for its members to further sharpen their skills.

(NAN)