Top government officials, business leaders, and media executives, will on November 7, converge on Bayelsa State for the 20th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC), where critical issues, including economic growth, security, and media sustainability would be discussed.
Among those expected to attend are Vice President Kashim Shettima, Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Chairman/Editor-In-Chief of Thisday/Arise Media Group, Nduka Obaigbena (who would chair the conference), Founder of Vanguard Newspaper, Uncle Sam Amuka and many others.
In a statement signed by the President, Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Eze Anaba and the General Secretary, Dr. Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the body said, “Former Governor of Ogun State, Segun Osoba; Publisher, BusinessDay, Frank Aigbogun; Senior Vice Chairman/Editor-In-Chief, Leadership Newspaper Group, Azu Ishiekwene and other media experts will be speaking on strategies for sustainable media financing, opportunities and challenges in Al-generated storytelling, and other emerging issues in global journalism practice.”
The Guild further said that some critical institutions in private/public and nongovernmental organisations will also be making presentations at the annual conference scheduled for November 7-9.
It said that since the present government came on board on May 29, 2023, its agents had consistently argued that the Federal Government had been pursuing audacious reforms to reconstruct macro-economic situations it met on ground, for stability and development.
“Their argument is that the petrol fiscal subsidy was moderately jettisoned initially, and foreign exchange reforms had led to the unification of the markets and a market-reflective exchange rate. They have also argued that in order to assuage the inflationary effects of these reforms on the most vulnerable, the government has been implementing temporary cash transfers to reach over 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, many experts say that Nigeria offers limited opportunities to most of its citizens, especially as Nigeria is currently ranked the 7th lowest human capital index in the world, and weak job creation while many workers choose to emigrate in search of better opportunities,” NGE said.
Justifying the conference’s theme, ‘Economic Growth and Development Strategies in Resource-Rich Country,’ the NGE said while the poverty rate is put at about 40 percent, with an estimated 88 million Nigerians living below the poverty line, the exchange rate, inflation and swelling energy prices remain huge concerns to many Nigerians and global community.
“To address these economic challenges and achieve development, there is a near consensus among all stakeholders that Nigeria 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’,’ the NGE added.
On media viability and sustainability, the professional body of editors stated that there was a growing view that media stakeholders should come out with mechanisms to support 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.
According to the statement, “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. Key experts, actors and players from various sectors, will be invited to start conversation on the best possible way out of these challenges.’’
