By: Kingsley Agim
Cross River Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Comrade Asu Okang, has revealed that modalities have been put in place for the State-owned Newspaper, the prestigious ‘Nigerian Chronicle’ to commence daily production come February 1, 2020.
Comrade Okang made the revelation, yesterday Calabar during an on-the-spot assessment of the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation- publishers of the Nigerian Chronicle.
The Information and Orientation Boss quipped that there is so much the Ayade-led administration is doing, especially in the areas of agriculture and industrialization that needed to be reported daily, pointing out that it is incumbent on the State information machinery to rise up and take the lead in the responsibility of publicizing activities, policies, programmes and deliverables of government.
The Commissioner rebuffed arguments made about the negative effects of social media on the print media, averring that such predilections stem from the inability of print media organizations to take advantage of the vast opportunities the new media provides in promoting their brands.
“We have therefore, upon my assumption of office in the last three weeks, contacted an Information Technology Solutions Specialist to build us a brand new application, called ‘New Chronicle App’ to be installed in phones and other electronic gadgets of Cross Riverians and Nigerians alike, that would take effect from February 1, 2020, to ensure daily production of media materials,” he added.
Comrade Okang, who described the Nigerian Chronicle as a “veritable and saleable brand” that has stood the test of time, charged the Management and staff of the Corporation to brace up for the new task of producing daily, as Nigerian Chronicle as a weekly paper, is redundancy, which will not be tolerated under his watch.
He commended the appreciable workforce on ground and promised to liaise with the Contractor to provide a conducive working environment for workers, while pledging to convey all requests and issues raised to the Governor for further necessary action.
Expressing his resolve towards making the government’s information machinery a success story under his rein, Comrade Okang highlighted his in-trays to include: turning the Cross River State Broadcasting Corporation into an enviable broadcasting house; overhauling the Government Printing Press, turning it into a money-spinner and revenue source for the Ministry and State Government as a whole; and even more compelling is the complete restructuring and rebranding of the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation into an effective organ of information dissemination.
In his speech, the General Manager, Cross River State Newspaper Corporation, Mr. Emmanuel Akpong, expressed elation that the Commissioner’s “illustrious background in printing and publishing” had immediately triggered empathy to the Corporation’s situation.
Mr. Akpong pointed out that though the Nigerian Chronicle, established since 1971, can still be found on the newsstands till date, while its contemporaries like Daily Star, Observer, New Nigeria, etc, have all gone out of circulation;but also lamented that the Nigerian Chronicle now is “only tottering on the brink as it continues to gasp for survival.”
The General-Manager cried out that the Corporation is wallowing in abandonment, ranging from dearth of printing equipment, lack of subvention or imprest to the establishment for over five years, hoping that the verve and vigorous disposition of the new Commissioner would turn things around for good.
He demanded that to live up to speed with the Commissioner’s vision for the Corporation, new computers for typesetting/design and more trained personnel would be required, as well as rehabilitation of existing machines, especially the Exercise Book Printing Machine.
The General Manager pledged the Corporation’s support and loyalty to his stewardship of the subsector as he optimistically welcomed the dawn of the New Nigerian Chronicle.
The Commissioner and his Management team’s visit to the Corporation is one in a series of on-the-spot assessment of facilities of parastatals under the Ministry of Information and Orientation.
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