•Iredia, Momoh, Obaigbena, Irabor, Igiebor, others inducted into Nigerian Observer’s Hall of Fame

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said the rebirth and relaunch of the state’s newspaper, Nigerian Observer, is a testament to his government’s vision to make Edo State a formidable media hub.

Obaseki, who spoke at the commissioning of the Nigerian Observer’s new office building and Edo Printing Centre, said the state’s newspaper has now been rebranded and upgraded to meet global standards.

During the event, veteran journalists, including Tony Iredia, John Momoh, Nduka Obaigbena, Sunny Irabor, Nosa Igiebor, Frank Aigbogun and Ebenezer Abiodun Aloba, a founding staff of the Nigerian Observer, were recognised and inducted into the Nigerian Observer Hall of Fame in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the development of the nation’s media industry.

Other guests at the event include the Edo State Deputy Governor, Marvellous Godwins Omobayo; former governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbinedion; Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo 2024 governorship election, Dr. Asue Ighodalo and chairman of the PDP, Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi.

According to Obaseki, “The vision of our founding fathers, including General Samuel Ogbemudia 55 years ago brought about perhaps one of the most advanced printing and media houses in Nigeria to be set up in Edo State.

“When we came into this premises to work on this press centre, the quality of the printing machines we saw here were top at that time.

This shows the vision of our leaders, as we are building on the back of people who ruled the State before we came in.”
The governor continued: “The media business in Nigeria today is largely dominated by Edo people and it’s not a coincidence as you can see from the award of the Observer Hall of Fame given here today.

“The Nigerian Observer is a nurturing ground. Alongside this new building, we have established the Edo press centre which is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for all printing and publishing needs. We have done this to diversify the risk in the newspaper business and hoping that with the state-of-the-art facilities here, it will augment revenue here at the Observer.”

Obaseki further noted, “We have maximized the use of this space by also locating the Sir Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub which offers opportunities to the State’s creative economy and enhance the talent of the young population.

“All of these activities, the press centre, the publishing house, and the creative hub were all crafted from the old premises of the Nigerian Observer which published the Bendel State-owned newspaper in 1968.

“Some of the notable journalists we have hosted today came from the stable of the Nigerian Observer Newspaper after surviving several shutdowns due to economic and political reasons and today, the newspaper continues publication.

“Looking back at the newspapers set up at the time, the Observer Newspaper is perhaps one of the few newspapers that may be surviving while others have gone into extinction.

“We are here for a simple ceremony. First to commission the Nigerian Observer building which now houses the newspaper, and also the printing presses (three printing presses) with state-of-the-art facilities which we believe will be very viable as these facilities are not common in this part of the world. We hope that it will provide jobs and expertise in the printing industry to lots of young Edo people.”

Earlier, Chris Osa Nehikhare, the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, who chronicled the history of the Nigerian Observer, noted that “Irrespective of various upheavals the world media has gone through in recent time, we can say the Nigerian Observer has no doubt come of age in the reporting, printing, publishing and general journalistic business in Nigeria because most state-owned newspapers are no more in business.”

Describing the newspaper as an essential service sector of the communication industry in Edo State, the Commissioner said the state government embarked on the overhaul of the newspaper and publishing outfit to ensure that it takes back its pride of place in the society.