The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has disclosed that its annual conference will be held from November 7 to November 9, 2024, in Yeanagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

The professional body of editors/media executives in Nigeria, made this known in statement issued by its President, Eze Anaba, and the General Sceretary, Dr Iyobosa Uwugiaren, on Monday, September 23.

The NGE said the All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC), which will be chaired by the Chairman/Editor-In-Chief of ThisDay/Arise Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, will be declared open by the Vice President Kashim Shettima.

With Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State as Chief Host, the NGE added that the former governor of Ogun State, Segun Osoba, and the Founder/Publisher of Vanguard Media Group, Uncle Sam Amuka, will be the Fathers of the Day.

Giving background to the annual conference, the editors said since the present government came on board in May 2023, its agents had consistently insisted that the federal government had been pursuing audacious reforms to reconstruct macroeconomic situations, it met on ground, for stability and development.

The NGE stated: “Their argument is that the petrol fiscal subsidy was moderately jettisoned, and Foreign Exchange, FX, reforms had led to the unification of the markets and a market-reflective exchange rate.

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“To assuage the inflationary effects of these reforms on the most vulnerable, the government said that it had been implementing temporary cash transfers to reach 15 million households, with efforts also being made to tighten monetary policy and refocus the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on its core mandate of maintaining price stability.

“However, in spite of these efforts by the federal government and having the largest economy and population in Africa, experts say that Nigeria offers limited opportunities to most of its citizens, especially as Nigeria is ranked the 7th lowest human capital index in the world, and weak job creation. Meanwhile many workers and professionals are increasingly choosing to emigrate in search of better opportunities.”

The professional body argued that while the poverty rate in the country is put at about 40 per cent, with an estimated 88 million Nigerians living below the poverty line, the exchange rate, inflation, and spiraling energy prices remain huge concerns to Nigerians.

The editors explained further that it is within this context that this year’s ANEC will focus on strategies and policies aimed at addressing the challenges of the nation’s economy and the media space.

The NGE added that key experts, actors, and players from different sectors – energy, security, money/capital market, regulatory agencies, Big Tech, media, and others – have been invited to the annual conference to start conversation on the best possible way out of the challenges.

The Star