Rising from its first quarterly Standing Committee Meeting in Abuja, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has challenged the Federal Government to “adopt very strong policies that would protect the rights of children, and in particular under-age girls, in the light of the rising cases of abductions and abuse of minors across the country.”
In a communique issued at the end of the meeting and signed by its President, Garba Deen Mohammad and Assistant General Secretary, Mary Atolagbe, the guild noted that the current economic challenges facing the country have made the need to diversify the Nigerian economy more compelling, and urged government to quickly evolve very clear and productive policies on mining.
They also urged the government to initiate policies to make agriculture more attractive through the provision of soft loans and other incentives that would facilitate the development of the agricultural sector.
The guild expressed serious disappointment over the poor conduct of the last Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) computer-based examinations.
Describing it “as a national embarrassment capable of truncating the destinies of future leaders”, the guild, implored government to immediately halt the approval of centres that lack the capacity to ensure seamless conduct of such examinations.
The guild further noted “with concern that the media industry, like most other sectors, is suffocating under the prevailing economic challenges, which poses a threat to the survival of traditional media in particular and credible information dissemination in general,” and therefore, asked “the government to review policies that impede the operations of the media in order to sustain democracy and avoid job losses.”
The guild also acknowledged the recent changes in the status of its leadership, and unanimously agreed on a handover plan that will culminate in a change of baton at its next Standing Committee Meeting.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana