President Bola Tinubu is set to declare open the Nigerian Guild of Editors’ 19th Annual Conference in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on November 15, 2023.
The conference would bring together over 400 media executives and senior editors, with the founder/chairman of Vanguard Newspapers Group, Uncle Sam Amuka, serving as the conference chairman.
In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja and signed by NGE president, Eze Anaba, and general secretary, Dr Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the umbrella body of editors/media executives in Nigeria said the conference, slated to hold from 14th to 18th November, 2023, which would also witness the launch of the NGE Editors Trust Fund, was carefully planned to interrogate the state of the nation’s economy and the missing gaps.
NGE said it had also gathered economic masters and technocrats from global and local institutions to interrogate the state of Nigeria’s economy, missing gaps, and the role of the media executives/editors in resolving the challenges.
With the theme, “Stimulating Economic Growth, Technological Advancement: Role of the Media” the statement said: ‘’The conference will also examine the Nigerian media sustainability and the existential threat by the Big Tech, and what we need to do to arrest it.”
It said the goal of the conference is to remind editors and media executives that economic actors need accurate, credible, and timely information to allocate resources judiciously.
Giving a background to the conference, the Guild explained that the media have a role to play in fixing the economic challenges in Nigeria, adding that chief executive officers from both public and private sectors believe the media can provide information and monitoring role to the economic policy development process that will lead to more effective economic policies and programmes.
The Guild explained further that while some people might argue that Nigeria had made some progress in socio-economic terms in recent years, the country was recently ranked very low in the global human capital development.
‘’Our country continues to face huge development challenges, including the need to reduce the dependence on oil for exports and revenues, diversify its foreign exchange sources, close the infrastructure gap, build strong and effective institutions, as well as address governance issues and strengthen public financial management systems.
‘’The conference is also expected to examine the impact of illegal oil refining, bunkering and oil theft, which have continued to threaten the survival of the nation’s economy, and a major threat to Nigeria in meeting its revenue.’’
The Guild added that the gathering will also afford the participants the huge opportunity to discuss issues affecting the journalism profession and proffer solutions that will enhance its robust practice in the country.
