Editors for Conference in Sokoto
Editors will converge in Sokoto for the All Nigeria Editors’ Conference (ANEC), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) said on Wednesday.
It will hold at the International Conference Centre, Sokoto, from Wednesday, November 27 to Sunday, December 1.
Acting President of the guild, Mr. Mustapha Isah, described Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as a strategic partner in nation-building and strengthening the nation’s democratic structures.
The theme of the conference is: A Distressed Media: Impact on Government, Governance and Society.
The keynote speaker is Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, a multiple-award winning editor, Fellow of the Guild and currently Editor-in-Chief of Vanguard.
ANEC will be chaired by former Ogun State governor, Aremo Olusegun Osoba.
The former governor is a former editor and media administrator.
Other speakers are: Mr. John Momoh, Founder/CEO of Channels TV; Prince Nduka Obaigbena, Publisher ThisDay newspapers and Chairman of Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN); Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher of Premium Times; representatives of Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), among others.
A statement by the guild’s Publicity Secretary, Ken Ugbechie, said the theme was chosen to reflect the prevailing realities and challenges in the Nigerian media.
Acting President Isah said: “The choice of this year’s conference is deliberate. The Nigerian media is distressed and its capacity to play the watchdog role in society is being eroded and challenged on several fronts and by multiple factors.”
“We have reached the point where all media stakeholders must come together to seek answers to the many questions and puzzles that threaten media practice in Nigeria.
“We have carefully assembled the crème of outliers in the profession drawn from print, broadcast and new media to share their thoughts and perspectives with Nigerian editors so that collectively we can proffer solutions to our challenges,” Isah said.
ANEC was first held in 2004 at Ada, in Osun State. Since then, it has been held in different parts of the country.
It brings together no fewer than 400 editors and other media professionals from all over the country and beyond to focus on designated national issues that affect the future and wellbeing of our country.
The conference also attracts foreign speakers and editors from organizations such as the West Africa Editors Forum (WAEF), the African Editors Forum (TAEF), the World Editors Forum (WEF) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).