By Austin Ogwuda
There is growing concern about the secrecy shrudded in the acquisition of brand new Rotary machines (Printing Press) for The Pointer Newspapers to enable it print independently.
A Media guru based in Edo State but an indigene of Delta who pleaded for anonymity because of his closeness to the State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, hinted The Townhall about the plan.
According to him, “When I heard that the governor has eventually approved the acquisition of the printing press but being located at the State Ministry of Information instead of the Pointer Newspapers opposite Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, I was shocked.
“As we speak, government has mobilised the middle man charged with the responsibility of procuring the press.
“As at last week, senior officials from the State Ministry of Information showed him where to install it right under the ministry’s roof”.
He went on to postulate that “the ideal thing to do is to have the printing press installed at the Pointer premises since they have abundance space for it. Why the ministry chooses to have it located under their very nose does not give room for effective and coordinated operations”.
All efforts to get comments from Commissioner Aniagwu were unsuccessful as at the time of this report.
*Commissioner Aniagwu, at the budget defence on Monday
Earlier today (Monday), the State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) & Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu at Budget defence stated that “Our priority areas in 2026 are to strengthen the state-owned media organizations — The Pointer, DBS Asaba, and DBS Warri — and to reposition them for modern broadcasting and publishing.
“We want to give these institutions a brand-new look, not just engage in patching or fixing. His Excellency, the Governor, believes that the time has come for a paradigm shift and a total package that will rebrand our media houses in line with the MORE Agenda”.
Recall that Benson Okobi-Allanah of the Pointer Newspapers wrote a comprehensive piece itemizing the challenges and hurdles the newspaper outfit had been facing since past 30 years of existence.
The concluding part of it reads:
….”Now that the newspaper enjoys scads of readers, there is the urgent need for us to have our own printing machine.
“It has been suggested by some members of the public that the print run be increased, and the paper made to circulate widely even in remote areas of the state, and getting to the Northern, Eastern, South-South parts of the country, and deep South-West where majority of Deltans are domiciled.
“The need to have our rotary machines repaired or replaced entirely now, to enable us to be printing independently, cannot be overemphasized. Having our own printing press will go a long way in changing the narrative of our present stance. We stand to gain more by having our own rotary rather than depending on other newspaper companies, who are our competitors, to be printing our copies.
As the newspaper clocks 30 on Monday, October 28, there is the urgent need for all stakeholders to have their hands on deck to ensure that some of these challenges facing the corporation is tackled headlong to enable it maintain its leadership role in the media industry in the South-south region at least”.
