By Kelvin Obambon
Cross River State Governor, Prince Bassey Edet Otu on Thursday commissioned revitalised facilities of the state-owned Nigerian Chronicle and a new government printing press at Barracks Road, Calabar, declaring the project a fulfilment of his pledge to restore official channels of public information.
The ceremony also marked the official reactivation of the remodeled Cross River State Newspaper Corporation, now styled the Cross River Information Hub.
The Chronicle, established in the 1970s, had been largely moribund for about two decades. Its complex was extensively damaged during the 2020 EndSARS protest, with equipment, books, records and newspaper cuttings lost.
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Governor Otu said he had earlier upgraded transmission equipment and office blocks at the Cross River Broadcasting Corporation after promising, at his first media parley in office, to revitalise every state information asset.
“Considering the importance of the print media, I set every machinery in motion to re-equip the facility and put it back to use; as well as renovating the entire complex plundered during the Endsars protest of 2020,” he said.
He warned that government investment in state-of-the-art press must be matched by staff diligence and protection of the facilities against vandalism. He directed the Editorial Board to develop a Critical Response Initiative to report breaking news, counter misleading information and cover emergencies.
“As a conventional media outlet, you should always verify facts before publication; as falsehood and sensational information is only consigned to the social media and other new media platforms,” Otu said. He added that the paper should publicise the administration’s development milestones while distinguishing propaganda from fact.
Minister of Information and Orientation, Mohammed Idris who cut the tape to the remodeled complex, congratulated the governor and described the project as restoration of an institution rather than mere reopening of a building.
“Today is about much more than reopening a building or commissioning new equipment. It is about restoring an institution, preserving institutional memory and renewing confidence in the place of credible information,” Idris said.
He said the Cross River Information Hub should become a centre for credible journalism, digital innovation and public engagement, and that official printing remains essential for laws, gazettes and public records even in a digital age.
“A government that does not preserve its records risks losing its history; a people who do not document their journey leave others to tell their story,” he said.
Idris also used the platform to defend federal economic reforms, including petrol subsidy removal, and appealed for responsible journalism ahead of the 2027 elections.
On his part, former Governor of Cross River, Chief Clement Ebri, who began his career at the Chronicle in 1978 as economics editor and later served as acting editor, recalled a paper that once printed 80,000 to 120,000 copies daily, maintained correspondents nationwide and practised journalism under the motto “Truth and Service.”
He said decline set in as experienced hands left, and that the 2020 destruction erased part of the state’s institutional memory. He appealed to residents to donate old copies, photographs and cuttings to rebuild the archives.
“This commissioning must not be the conclusion of the revival. It must be the beginning of a new chapter,” Ebri said. “We must not simply restore the Chronicle of yesterday. We must build the Chronicle of tomorrow.”
The immediate past Commissioner for Information, Dr Erasmus Ekpang, in his welcome address, said the governor had renovated and furnished the complex, installed modern printing machinery, employed 30 ad-hoc staff for the press and 25 permanent staff for the newspaper corporation, and accepted plans for an event centre within the Information Hub.
Also speaking, the current Commissioner for Information, Pastor Ekpenyong Cobham said the in-house press would cut outsourcing costs, improve security of official documents and generate revenue from commercial jobs.
The Paradise News reports that the new revived Chronicle and press are now expected to combine print with digital platforms while upholding accuracy, independence and public service.
