The 11th annual All Editors Conference of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) commenced on Thursday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo urging participants to help initiate fundamental change in the polity.
In a message to the conference, Osinbajo noted that the media remains a fundamental part of the change communication process and urged Editors to take their responsibility seriously.
Osinbajo, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, urged policy formulators to involve the media at all levels of policy formulation stages.
He said Nigerians have enormous expectations from the media and urged the editors to be aware of its role in the development process.
The vice president urged the media to maintain objectivity in articles, opinions, comments passing through their hands in their daily work in the newsrooms.
In his remarks, Gov. Seriake Dickson, who declared the conference open, rallied support for the Federal Government in the area of security and law and order as well as economy.
“We in the PDP did not have a clear understanding of the insurgency. We politicised the war against insurgency, but it has become evident that terrorism is not political, neither is it tribal,” he said.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman at the Opening Ceremony and Chief Executive of Channels Television, John Momoh, urged the media to be conscious of the feelings and interests of the audience.
He noted that in view of the economic realities, dwindling sales and advertisement revenue had put the media in a challenging position.
“In the face of these daunting challenges, we cannot afford to stray too far or our readers will leave us,” Momoh said.
He urged the media to improve the quality of public debate and contribute to solving the problems of the society.
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