Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City
The All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State chapter, yesterday, said, it believed that Governor Godwin Obaseki, was being economical with the truth, when in June 2022, he closed down the Nigerian Observer with a promise to reopen it in a month after restructuring.
In a statement, Secretary to State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie, had said, “The Edo State Government, in line with the reforms of the state-owned media organisations, has directed the closure of the Nigerian Observer newspaper for a period of one month, for re-organisation and re-launch of the media outfit.
“All existing staff of the Nigerian Observer are hereby redeployed to the Ministry of Communication and Orientation, with immediate effect, where they will receive further directives on their new responsibilities”.
However, the APC in a statement by its Assistant Publicity Secretary, Ofure Osehobo, said contrary to the above promises, the PDP government led by Obaseki has since demolished vital sections of the premises of the newspaper at 24 Airport Road, Benin City, installed a ‘N5-billion’ printing press, redeployed all the workers to MDAs and created a newspaper called ECHO to replace the Nigerian Observer.
According to APC, the Nigerian Observer was set up in 1968 by the late Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, as administrator of then Midwest region, and as one of the assets Edo inherited in 1991.
The Edo APC noted that the old Nigeria Observer printing press was auctioned while a press proposed to print ECHO, the new name Obaseki has given the Nigerian Observer with some of his cronies as staffers, has failed to print one sheet of paper since it was imported from Germany in 2020, adding that twice, the manufacturers have been guests of the government for millions of naira, to repair it to no avail.
“Yet, Edo State Government, has employed a 14-man staff for the Echo and signed an MOU with some unknown media firm for the purpose of daily printing and circulation of the medium on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis.
“As a party, we see the action of the governor in saying one thing and doing the opposite as one which is in tandem with his 2020 manifesto called, Make Edo Grounded Again, MEGA. The goal is ensuring a defined template for underdevelopment in Edo State.
“It is with all the modalities for an unending under development plan, designed to paralyse government tools, guidelines and milestones so that his successors find future development planning an ordeal. We condemn the plot as it is bound to fail,” Osehobo said.
