Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu has defended the 2022 Appropriation Bill of the Ministry before the State House of Assembly (DTHA), securing the support and cooperation of the legislators.
Accompanying the Commissioner for the Budget Defence were the Permanent Secretary (Ministry of Information) Mr. Paul Osahor; the General Managers of the three state-owned print and electronic media, and directors of the ministry and its parastatals.
Mr. Aniagwu reviewed the capital side of the 2021 budget of the Ministry and its challenges before proceeding to present the 2022 Budget, estimated at N650 million (capital) to deal with issues of procuring equipment for The Pointer Newspaper and Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS) Asaba and Warri.
Specifically, the Information Commissioner made a case for the content synchronization of DBS Asaba and Warri to further reflect the unity of the state as well as improved publication and circulation of The Pointer Newspaper.
Aniagwu noted that the challenges bedeviling the state media houses arose, in part, from the delayed proposed digitization plans by the National Broadcasting Cooperation (NBC); a development that has hampered the output of the stations over the years.
‘’Where we are headed is for us to be able to have a proper link between DBS Asaba and Warri; the two stations are divided and we want to link them up as one in terms of operations such that the news is reported the same. Otherwise, this means that, even with our own stations, we are dividing our state.
‘’Between now and the next seven months, we are committed to getting these stations up and running because it is a shame that Deltans cannot watch what happens in the state through our state-owned televisions. We assure you that this will be done in 2022 as Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is on the same page with us’’ he said.
The Information Commissioner informed the House Committee members of a more pragmatic approach to boost The Pointer’s circulation across ad beyond the state while engaging the private sector.
Members of the House Committee on Information led by Hon Ferguson Onwo commended Mr. Aniagwu for his competence and antecedents since his appointment as Information Commissioner, but charged him to deepen his legacies in the information architecture of the state.
‘’We want you to succeed and we will support you in all what you intend to do. If there is anything that you can do so that we can sit in the comfort of our homes and watch DBS, we will support you to ensure that the right things are done in information dissemination because that is the only way that our constituents can know what we are doing’’ Hon Onwo said.
Other members of the House Committee on Information include Hon Reuben Izeze, Hon Pullah Ekpotuyerin, Hon Emosivwe Anidi and Hon Austin Chikezie.
