The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has demanded an apology from The Nation newspaper over an editorial accusing journalists of “failed journalism” following the appearance of opposition politician Peter Obi at the Guild’s 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference in Enugu.
The dispute followed an editorial published by The Nation on Thursday titled “Journalists Failed Journalism,” in which the newspaper questioned the decision to allow Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and political economist Prof. Pat Utomi to address editors at the conference.
The Nation argued that Obi’s appearance raised questions about the professional neutrality of the Guild, particularly in the context of the 2027 general elections.
The NGE, however, rejected the newspaper’s interpretation, saying the editorial overlooked important facts about the conference and the Guild’s efforts to secure participation from major political parties.
In a statement signed by NGE President Eze Anaba and General Secretary Onuoha Ukeh, the Guild accused The Nation’s editorial board of reaching a sweeping conclusion without establishing the full circumstances surrounding the conference.
The Guild said the conference was designed as a professional forum for discussions on democracy, elections, journalism, artificial intelligence, misinformation and Nigeria’s political future.
According to the NGE, its programme included an executive session involving governors, political party leaders, government officials and other stakeholders.
It argued that Obi and Utomi’s participation should therefore be viewed within that broader framework and not interpreted as an endorsement of the NDC or any political candidate.
The Guild said it had invited representatives of major political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and NDC, to participate in the political engagement.
The NGE further said the invitations were followed up through personal contacts in an effort to secure broad representation.
According to the Guild, Anaba personally spoke with APC Chairman Nentawe Yelwatda and ADC Vice-Presidential candidate Chibuike Amaechi about attending the conference, while Ukeh followed up with Paul Ibe, media aide to ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
The Guild questioned why it should be accused of partisanship when it had made efforts to bring representatives of different political parties to the event.
The NGE also pointed to the participation of representatives of the Federal Government and the ruling APC at the conference.
It said Tunde Rahman, a senior media aide to President Bola Tinubu, addressed participants on the administration, while Information and National Orientation Minister Mohammed Idris was represented by News Agency of Nigeria Managing Director Ali Mohammed Ali.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima also participated virtually from the United States, according to the Guild.
The NGE said these appearances demonstrated that the conference was not structured as a platform for a single political party or candidate.
The 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference was held in Enugu from September 24 to 26, 2026, with the theme “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive.” More than 300 editors attended the conference, according to reports on the event.
The Guild took particular exception to The Nation’s description of Obi’s appearance as an “ambush” and its broader suggestion that the NGE had compromised its professional responsibilities.
The Guild argued that providing political actors with an opportunity to address journalists is fundamentally different from endorsing their political positions.
It maintained that journalism requires media organisations to provide platforms for competing views while independently scrutinising the claims made by political actors.
“It is the Nation’s Editorial Board that failed journalism,” the Guild said, arguing that the editorial fell short of journalistic standards because it reached a broad conclusion without considering what the NGE described as material facts surrounding the conference.
The Guild also rejected what it described as The Nation’s characterisation of the conference as evidence of political partisanship.
The Guild said it remained committed to accuracy, fairness, balance, objectivity, independence and accountability, describing those principles as central to professional journalism.
It also said it would continue providing platforms for political actors, public officials, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to engage with journalists ahead of the 2027 elections.
The NGE stressed that such engagement should not automatically be interpreted as political endorsement.
The Guild has now called on The Nation’s editorial board to acknowledge what it described as omissions in the newspaper’s editorial and apologise to the Guild and its leadership.
The dispute comes at a significant moment for Nigeria’s media industry, with political parties already preparing for the 2027 elections and news organisations facing increasing pressure to maintain editorial independence while providing voters with access to competing political viewpoints.
The NGE itself used its 2026 conference to call for stronger fact-checking and verification systems in newsrooms and urged media organisations to adhere to professional standards in election reporting.
The disagreement between the Guild and The Nation therefore raises a broader question for the Nigerian media: where should the line be drawn between giving political actors access to the press and maintaining editorial independence during an increasingly competitive election cycle?