The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has hailed the emergence of Mrs Funke Egbemode as President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

This is contained in a statement issued on Saturday by Dogara’s Special Adviser on Media & Public Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan.

In the statement, Dogara described Egbemode as one of the finest writers in the country.

The speaker urged the NGE President to build on the giant strides of her predecessors whom he commended for the role played in the struggle for the enthronement of democracy.

“The challenge before Egbemode and other leaders in journalism is to ensure that the media is alive to its responsibility.

“These responsibility is also to make sure that government adheres to the tenets of democracy’’, he said.

The speaker said the 8th National Assembly was committed to promoting freedom of press as one of the pillars of free society.

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He urged practitioners to exercise such freedom with responsibility so as not to endanger the image of the public.

“Without a free press, democracy will not thrive’’, he said.

Egbemode, Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of the New Telegraph, was confirmed substantive President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors at the 12th All Nigeria Editors Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Egbemode emerged Acting President of NGE at the second quarterly meeting of the association’s Standing Committee held in Abuja.

Before joining the New Telegraph, Egbemode worked in The Sun, Punch and Post Express newspapers.

She also served as the Special Adviser on Media to former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs Patricia Etteh. (NAN)
IK/VOE/IEA