June 21, 2022

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), says it is set to instigate conversation on media regulation, to build capacity and deepen the country’s democracy.

Mr Mustapha Isah, President of NGE, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday in Abuja.

Isah said the Guild, with assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, was able to train more than 350 journalists to enhance their capacity, and also engaged 150 others in town hall meetings.

“The next phase now is to have a conversation on media regulation with relevant stakeholders in the country.

“We will be meeting in Lagos this June, and Abuja in the first week of July. It is also going to be a training for editors to basically empower us to ask questions and hold government accountable to the people.

“The aim is also to deepen democracy in the country, to defend our democracy, so that we can have more participation, especially by youths and women,” Isah said.

He said on the media regulation discourse, all stakeholders including publishers of newspapers, owners of media outfits, editors, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), and many others, would be invited.

The NGE had in 2021, received a grant from the U.S. to facilitate capacity building of its members and other senior journalists.

The grant of 226,889 dollars (about N93.3million), is to facilitate activities aimed at strengthening the capacity of Journalists in performing their responsibilities. (NAN)