Delta Media Outfit To Be South-south Envy, Says Information Commissioner

Delta state Printing and Publishing company, publishers of the state owned tabloid, The Pointer Newspaper would in no distant time compete with its national daily counterpart.

The Commissioner for Information Mr Charles Aniagwu, gave the disclosure Friday, when he paid an on the spot assessment visit to the company along Delta Broadcasting Road (DBS), assuring that the state government would make the Pointer Newspaper a strong voice in the South-south region.

The commissioner, who inspected the facilities and working environment, said that the Pointer was at ground zero, saying, "How do you expect anybody in this environment to write a good story; with this kind of environment, nobody can be motivated to come to work; with the situation in this place, no reporter can be motivated to write a good story,"

"Pointer is not in a functional state, it is not encouraging. We need to make this place habitable and conducive for people to work," Mr Aniagwu said.

According to the commissioner, the Pointer would be made to enjoy financial independence but with close supervision to ensure that nobody sabotage the state government.

He promised to incorporate the field officers in the Ministry of Information to feed the newspaper with stories of events and happenings at the grassroots, explaining that the Pointer lacked enough staff to cover the entire 25 local government areas of the state.

Mr Aniagwu directed the functioning Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Paul Osahor, to commence immediately, the process for the construction of the Pointer permanent site along DBS Road, saying we need to liaise with the state government for the building of the permanent site, stressing, "It is not something to be delayed anymore."

Earlier, the General Manager of the Pointer Newspapers, Mr Monday Nwagwu, had told the commissioner that the Pointer used to have about 320 staff but could only boast of 120 as at today attributing the shortfall to lack of motivation and unconducive working environment.

In the same vein, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu who also visited the Government Printing Press, located at the Old Secretariat, Asaba to see the facilities, stated that people should protect government property like their own.

He promised to work on the place and make it to function optimally.

With the commissioner on the tour were the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Paul Osahor, the Director General, Directorate of Orientation, Mr Eugene Uzum, directors in the ministry and managers in the Pointer Newspapers, among others.