Nigeria Guild of Editors to address challenges facing economy, media space at 2024 conference

The Nigeria Guild of Editors will converge on DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Yenagoa, Balyesa State Capital between for 7 to 9 November 2024 for a conference to focus on strategies and policies aimed at addressing the challenges of the nation’s economy and the media space.

Penpushing reports that the General Secretary of the Guild, Iyobosa Uwugiaren made this known in a statement explaining that the All-Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC), 2024, adding that the conference will be declared open by the Vice-President of Nigeria, Alhaji Kashim Shettima.

The statement the Chairman/Editor-In-Chief of THISDAY/Arise Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena will chair the occasion and Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State as Chief Host, while the former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba and the Founder/Publisher of Vanguard Media Group, Uncle Sam Amuka, will be the Fathers of the Day.

Penpushing further reports that Uwugiaren disclosed that key experts, actors and players from different sectors: energy, academic, money/capital markets, media, Big Tech and others, have been invited to start conversation on the best possible way out of these challenges.

The statement in background to this year’s All-Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) pointed out that since the present government came on board, in May 2023, agents of the government had consistently insisted that the federal government had been pursuing audacious reforms to reconstruct macroeconomic situations, it met on ground, for stability and development.

‘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. 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 choosing to emigrate in search of better opportunities’.

‘While the poverty rate is put at about 40 % – with an estimated 88 million Nigerians living below the poverty line, the exchange rate, inflation and spiralling energy prices, remain huge concerns to many Nigerians’.

‘To address these economic challenges and achieve development, there is a near consensus among all stakeholders that the country needs to push for a wide-ranging and comprehensible set of policies and strategies that will address both the short-term and long-term issues.

‘On the media sustainability, there is growing view that media stakeholders should come out with mechanisms to support sustainability in the media industry – for individual publishers and the sector as a whole, by ensuring they receive fair compensation for the use of their intellectual property and content’.

‘The argument is that mechanisms should adjust to evolving market conditions and boost the likelihood that publishers can build diverse revenue streams. 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’.

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