Osinbajo pledges slots for NGE at NIPPS

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has promised to enrol members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) as participants in the prestigious Senior Executive Course of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru near Jos.

This is contained in a statement jointly signed by the President and General Secretary of the guild, Mrs Funke Egbemode and Mary Atolagbe, respectively, in Abuja on Sunday.

The Vice President made the pledge when he received the newly elected executive of the NGE, led by its president in his office.

He promised that his office would work out plans for editors to participate in the course from the next batch of the training.

According to the statement, Osinbajo said that slots would be assigned to members of the guild to undertake the course with a view to enable them contribute their quota to nation building.

The statement said the slots would also enable the participants from the guild to join the forums at NIPPS, where academics of excellence, seasoned policy initiators meet to reflect and exchange ideas on the great and critical issues of developing the Nigerian society.

The vice president however explained that members of the guild would be considered for the rigorous screening into the course and those who are successful would fill the discretionary slots for enrolment on the course.

He congratulated the guild for its recent rancour-free election, which demonstrated that it is a professional body of men and women of integrity and exemplary character.

Osinbajo, who said he regarded himself as a media person because his first book was on media ethics in Nigeria, also promised to support specialised trainings for editors and media professionals in the country.

He further promised to always support the media and explore means of an intervention fund for specific media projects.

The vice president said he would welcome ideas from the NGE on how best to improve government-media relations and in resolving challenges posed by the social media, which is without regulation.

He challenged the NGE to explore means of tackling fake news and finding effective means of regulating the social media.

Egbemode had earlier told the vice president that the guild was passionate about training and re-training of editors, and would be seeking to partner with other agencies of government for capacity building of members.

She intimated the vice president of the current harsh economic atmosphere in which the media industry was operating.

“While most other sectors are out of recession; the media industry is not yet out of the economic quagmire,” the NGE president said.

She suggested that government should consider setting up a Media Industry Intervention Fund for media operators that are battling with high cost of importing consumables, with a view to cushioning the current harsh economic operating environment.