•President of the NGE, Mr Eze Anaba

The Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) is requesting for 10-year corporate tax relief from the federal government.

The guild presented their demand on Wednesday during the opening ceremony of the All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) with the theme “Democracy, Governance and National Cohesion: The Role of Editors”, held at the State House Conference Hall, Abuja.

The President of the NGE, Mr Eze Anaba, who made the call on behalf of the media organisations, lamented that the present economic realities in the country have put the media in distress.

He emphasized that the economic situation in the country has forced some media houses to shut down, while some that struggle to operate cannot pay workers’ salaries.

The NGE boss also called for tax exemption, the establishment of low-interest loans for the media, and a digital transformation and innovation fund.

Anaba further proposed a Media Freedom and Safety Charter to protect journalists from a hostile environment.

•Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

Ethiopia has been selected to host the 32nd United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP32) in 2027.

Richard Muyingi, chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), disclosed that Ethiopia’s bid was endorsed last week after the country resubmitted its expression of interest , beating Nigeria in a closely contested bid.

“The matter was discussed by the African group in a meeting last week, and Ethiopia was confirmed as the host of COP32,” Muyingi said.

The hosting of COPs rotates among global regions, with Africa due to host the summit in 2027.

The host country for COP31 is yet to be decided between Turkey and Australia.

A new World Bank report says that only 44 percent of government-funded social safety-net schemes actually reach poor Nigerians.

In the new report titled “The State of Social Safety Nets in Nigeria”, released in November, the bank examined Nigeria’s spending on social safety nets, assessed their coverage and efficiency, and reveals how poor targeting, weak funding, and fragmented implementation have left millions of vulnerable citizens without meaningful relief despite the government’s lofty poverty-reduction promises.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced recently that the federal government is targeting 15 million households, covering some 70 million people via the digital cash-grant scheme.

The World Bank described Nigeria’s social safety-net spending as inefficient, saying a smaller portion of benefits goes to the poor despite their dominance among beneficiaries.

According to the bank, while about 56 percent of the recipients of safety-net programmes are poor, they receive only 44 percent of the total benefits.

It explained that this imbalance stems from the way most programmes, including the National Social Safety Nets Programme, allocate a fixed amount per household rather than per person.