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The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has demanded an apology from the editorial board of The Nation newspaper over an editorial accusing journalists of failing in journalism, insisting that the newspaper’s editorial board failed to uphold professional standards by reaching conclusions without establishing all the facts.
The Guild, in a statement issued by Eze Anaba and Onuoha Ukeh, President and General Secretary respectively, in response to the editorial published on Thursday, October 8, 2026, said the Editorial Board of The Nation omitted key facts regarding the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) held in Enugu, especially the efforts made by the Guild to ensure the participation of major political parties and their representatives.
The newspaper’s editorial, titled “Failed Journalists in Journalism”, had questioned the NGE’s decision to allow Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and Professor Pat Utomi, a party leader, to address editors at the conference.
The Nation’s editorial reportedly described their appearance as evidence of bias on the Guild’s part, a position the NGE strongly rejected.
According to the Guild, the conclusion was not supported by the facts surrounding the conference, which was designed as a “professional forum for publishers and stakeholders to discuss critical national issues, including democracy, elections, journalism, artificial intelligence, disinformation and the future of Nigeria.”
The NGE said the conference program specifically called for an “executive session” on the second day, which would involve governors, political party chairs, heads of government agencies and other key players in the political and public space.
He argued that Obi and Utomi’s participation should therefore be understood in the broader framework of the conference rather than isolated and presented as evidence that the Guild supported the NDC or any political candidate, stressing that its decision to provide a platform for political engagement does not amount to an endorsement of any party or candidate.
The Guild said it had officially invited representatives of major political parties, including All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yelwatda; the President of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark; and the Chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Cleopas Moses Zuwoghe, to participate in the said effort.
He added that the invitations were followed by reminders, stressing that the effort to ensure broad political participation went beyond simply sending formal invitations.
The Guild said its president, Eze Anaba, had personally engaged some political leaders in a bid to ensure wider participation.
According to the statement, “Anaba spoke with APC Chairman Yelwatda and ADC Vice Presidential Candidate Hon Chibuike Amaechi regarding their participation in the conference.”
The NGE further said that its General Secretary, Onuoha Ukeh, personally contacted Mr. Paul Ibe, Media Assistant to the ADC Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to encourage the participation of the party and its leaders.
The Guild argued that these efforts contradicted the central argument of The Nation editorial, while questioning why it should be held accountable when political parties that had been invited and reminded of the conference ultimately failed to attend.
The NGE said it would be inappropriate to prevent a willing and willing political candidate from participating simply because other invited candidates or political parties chose not to participate.
The Guild noted that Tunde Rahman, Senior Media Aide to President Bola Tinubu, spoke at the administration conference. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, was also represented at the event by the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Alhaji Ali M. Ali, while Vice President Kashim Shettima addressed editors virtually from the United States. Two other governors of the All Progressives Congress, namely the host governor, Peter Mbah and his counterpart from Jigawa, Umar Namadi, also addressed the conference.
The NGE said the participation of these officials and representatives demonstrated that the conference provided a broad platform for engagement rather than a platform designed to favor a particular political party or candidate.
He consequently rejected The Nation editorial’s description of Obi’s presence at the conference as an “ambush”, insisting that the NDC presidential candidate attended an open professional meeting involving hundreds of editors, journalists and other stakeholders, and that his participation should not be confused with an endorsement of his political position.
The Guild argued that there was a fundamental difference between providing a platform for engagement and advocating a political position, while taking exception to the editorial’s reference to the “impunity of silence”, describing the characterization as unfortunate.
The Guild said it was particularly ironic to have been accused of “journalism failure” by an editorial which, in its view, failed to take into account the material facts regarding the invitations to political parties and subsequent efforts to secure their participation.
“It was the nation’s editorial board that failed journalism,” the Guild said, arguing that “the paper’s editorial fell short of journalistic standards by reaching a sweeping conclusion without establishing all the facts.”
The NGE reaffirmed its commitment to what it described as the cardinal principles of journalism, including accuracy, fairness, balance, objectivity, independence and responsibility.
He promised to provide platforms for independent engagement between political actors, public officials, civil society organizations, electoral institutions and other stakeholders “without fear or favor”, stressing: “This is not partisanship. This is journalism.”
Having placed its account of events on the record, the NGE called on The Nation’s editorial board to acknowledge what it described as omissions in the editorial and to apologize.
“Now that the facts have been placed on record, the NGE expects the editorial board of The Nation newspaper, composed of responsible members of the Nigerian media community, to acknowledge the omissions in its editorial and offer an apology to the Guild and its leadership,” the Guild demanded.
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