The Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) has enjoined the newly elected president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mr. Femi Adesina and the Vice President, Suleiman Uba Gaya to uphold the spirit of professionalism and political non-partisanship for which the body of editors is known and respected.
Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu described the emergence of Mr. Adesina as NGE president as a clear manifestation of the confidence reposed in him by his fellow editors.
In a release signed by Governor Aliyu’s Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, the forum said the position of president of the guild of editors is one that demands members across the length and breadth of the country are carried along for the benefit of not only the media in Nigeria but also the Nigerian public.
“At this time of the nation’s political development, what Nigeria and indeed Nigerians need is a guild that transcends political partisanship and one that will leave politics to politicians and only play the traditional role of mediating between the leader and the led.
“I have a strong belief that your colleagues must have seen these qualities and others in you to have elected you into this highly exalted office.
“It is a thing of joy that your colleagues put aside ethnicity or tribalism in choosing you to pilot the affairs of the guild, I therefore call on you to provide the body with a leadership devoid of tribal, political or any primordial sentiment,” the statement said.
The forum reiterated its strong belief in the universally held assertion that nothing sustains a nation’s democracy than a vibrant media, the type we have in Nigeria and urged the new president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors to work very hard to sustain this tradition.
It said if what members of its forum have read in Adesina’s Friday columns in the Daily Sun over the years, his fearless assessments of the nation’s political landscape and his consistent fight for justice, fair play and equity are true reflections of his inner feelings, then it would not be difficult for him to bring these to bear in the leadership of the guild.
The forum prayed God to grant Mr Adesina and other editors who were elected at Friday’s election the ability to take the Nigerian Guild of Editors to a lofty height.
