Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY Media Group and ARISE News Channel, has urged the Federal Government to operationalise the country’s four government-owned refineries to counteract the influence of oil mafias. Speaking as the Chairman of the All Nigeria Editors Conference in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Obaigbena stated, “If we are going to use whatever means to deal with the oil mafias, we should keep our refineries alive. If you say you want to stop monopoly, then our four refineries must work. Let those four refineries compete with Dangote Refinery.”
He further challenged government officials, saying, “We challenge the Minister of Information and Bayo Onanuga to get the refineries working. Everybody is feeling the pain in the country. The time is hard, but Nigerian journalists are harder, so you have to be tough to cope with the time.”
Obaigbena expressed optimism about the country’s future under President Tinubu’s reforms, adding, “I can see that the future can be better if we give Tinubu’s reform a face. We should support the reform but we must make sure that the vulnerable are supported.” He stated that real change begins with internal adjustments: “We are ready for the change, but the first step is to put our house in order. Let us fix Nigeria. That is the first thing to do, and let’s also work hard to ensure that we also protect our industries.”
Resource Scarcity Threatens Media Survival — Anaba
Mr. Eze Anaba, President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, highlighted the scarcity of resource materials as a major threat to media survival in Nigeria. He stressed the critical role of editors in national development, noting that the economy’s health impacts every sector, including the media. “Media organisations face mounting pressure to adapt to modern trends while staying financially viable and maintaining journalistic integrity,” Anaba said. “Now, we thought the only challenge facing the media would be adapting to modern trends, but the biggest threat to media survival today is the availability of resource materials to produce our papers or to broadcast on our TV stations.”
Set Up Committee for NUJ Crisis — Osoba
Former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, called for a committee to address the ongoing leadership crisis within the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) over tenure issues. Osoba stated that editors, as the most united group after newspaper proprietors, are best positioned to help resolve the crisis. “Before you leave, I want you to set up a committee to look into the crisis brewing in the NUJ. They are supposed to hold their annual conference, but some people are saying that the president has overstayed his tenure and they took him to court. You are the only united group after the NPAN to intervene in that crisis brewing in the NUJ,” Osoba urged.
Editors Must Question National Issues — Oye
Delivering the keynote speech, Dele Kelvin Oye, President of the National Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, addressed the mismanagement of oil and gas resources as a critical issue affecting the nation. He also criticised the government’s unilateral decision-making and poor management of the exchange rate, which he said were key issues impacting the economy. Encouraging editors to uphold their duty to question authority, he added, “You are editors. You should be asking questions, especially if what is happening is detrimental to national development.”