 |
| Comr Asu Okang, Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Cross River State |
31 December 2019
Cross River Broadcasting Corporation CRBC a state-owned broadcasting facility will be experiencing a face-lift beginning from 2020. The Nigerian Chronicles the state owned newspaper is anticipated to be revamped as well. This development is coming sequel to the government decrying the deplorable conditions of CRBC etc NEGROIDHAVEN can say authoritatively.
The Honourable Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Comr Asu Okang, Monday in a press briefing with journalists in Calabar the state capital disclosed this disposition of the Cross River State Government CRSG during his official resumption as Commissioner for Governor Ben Ayade’s second term and maiden parley with journalists in the state.
Comr Okang queried the dilapidated condition of the government media houses. And announced that the State Governor has ordered the revamp of the facilities. According to him, ‘CRBC… I am sure all of us sitted in this room, if you’re asked about the state of CRBC today, you will clearly not be happy with the state of CRBC. And so a few days ago, we were at the House of Assembly to look at the budget again for the Ministry.
‘His Excellency the Governor Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade, I am here to announce, has ordered the complete overhaul and complete digitalisation of CRBC. Thus far, we have also taken delivery of three thousand decoders, we are expecting two thousand more.
‘We intend to in the next one year to have our Ikom station revitalised. To ensure that the Ogoja substation comes alive. But something is very fascinating and in the course of our management meeting we are going to discuss about that in depth.
‘We have failed to take advantage of the monopoly that we currently enjoy as the only TV station in the state. As a result of that failure too at the level of the radio (CRBC radio), we’ve had different private radio station springing up across the state especially the state capital recently.
Continuing Okang said, ‘My wonder is how they manage to sustain themselves, get wider reach and coverage, and our own state radio station doesn’t have half of such coverage. On television, on radio why do we need to have station after station when far back in my village in Etare Ekuri, you can tune on the radio and you have signals from Hit FM. What is that they are doing that we are not do as a government? Why do we need to have a booster at Odukpani, and another substation at Ikom, then another substation in Ogoja. Why can’t we have just one that can have that wide coverage. How come that once you get to Odukpani, after Biase the signals you receive will either be Ebonyi Radio or Enugu Radio? What are they doing that we cannot do? What level of support is their government giving them that ours cannot give? What level of digitisation have they gotten that we cannot?’
 |
| Comr Okang in a press briefing with journalists in Calabar the state capital city Monday this week |
Okang said that the present administration will effect a new CRBC. He charged the management and staff of CRBC to contemplate the improvement of the type of content published therein. While contemplating the decentralisation of the leadership of CRBC into General Manager CRBC Radio, and General Manager CRBC TV, the Commissioner announced that gone are the days where CRBC had a penchant for airing obituaries and religious programmes predominantly. He said ‘It is not going to be business as usual, we will work together, we will have an improved CRBC because we cannot have a digital governor and an analogue CRBC. It’s not possible. There is no meeting point.’
State Newspaper
Okang observed that Gov Ayade has given approval for the employment of 198 news correspondents for the Nigerian Chronicles Newspapers for broad spectrum coverage in all the 196 wards in Cross River State, Abuja and Lagos.
He directed that the newspaper will proceed to publishing daily instead of operating monthly publications. He informed that there is ongoing development of the mobile application for the Nigerian Chronicles. ‘From today Chronicles has become a daily newspaper. His Excellency the Governor has ordered the immediate engagement of 196 young correspondents in 196 wards across the State. In addition to that, we have a correspondent in Lagos and another in Abuja. And they are to be paid like political appointees.’
Comr Okang further observed that in the forthcoming three and a half years (2020 to 2023), he will leave the Ministry of Information and Orientation better than how met it. ‘This is Ministry of information, like I have been told, like I have seen, like I have come to have first hand information. As Ministry of Information we are meant to inform the public, not the public informing us.
‘However, for us, in the next three and a half years, we expect that we should be able to drive the Ministry to leave it better than we met it. We will as much as possible attempt honest contributions and try as much as possible ensure that so many things that were not, become by means of clear leveraging and your support’.
