7th February, 2025
By Jethro Ibileke
The Edo State Government on Friday retrieved the state-owned Nigerian Observer Printing Press from Fountain Brook Publishing Limited, led by Chike Madueke, the consultant appointed by the immediate past administration.
The state-owned newspaper, The Observer, was shut down on 30 June, 2022 by then-Governor Godwin Obaseki, who handed over its management to consultants while redeploying its staff to the Ministry of Information and Communication.
Upon assuming office, Governor Monday Okpebholo took immediate steps to reverse these actions by directing the newspaper’s staff to return to work.
The government has now taken full control of the printing press from the consultants and handed it over to The Observer’s management team, led by its General Manager, Sylvester Oboh.
The handover was witnessed by the State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Paul Ohonbamu; the Chief Press Secretary to the Edo State Governor, Mr Fred Itua; and directors from the Ministry of Information and Communication, among other top government officials.
Ohonbamu described the event as significant, noting that the transition was achieved without any altercation or violence.
He commended Fountain Brook Publishing Limited for honouring its commitment to return the printing press to the state government.
“When I came on board, I said that the primary mandate of Observer is to print, which is the dream of the founding fathers. The newspaper gets to the grassroots, keeping the people abreast of happenings. We need to feed the people with good news.
“We are all excited to be here today to retrieve the printing press and strategize on training of staff on its operations. We assure Edo people of quality news,” he said.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Fountain Brook Publishing Limited, Chike Madueke, acknowledged that returning the Observer printing press to the Edo State Government was the right course of action, as it remains government property.
“Our concern about the printing press is handling the press. It is divided into three—one is for printing of flex banners, the second one is for printing calendars and books, and the third is for printing newspapers.
“The printing is of high quality. I am here to do the formal handover of the documents and keys to the three printing press. It is Edo State Government’s property.”
The Acting General Manager of The Nigerian Observer, Sylvester Oboh, highlighted the newspaper’s challenges since November 2024, particularly the absence of a self-owned printing press.
He emphasized that Observer is not just a media house but a printing and publishing corporation established by an Act of Parliament.
“Since 1968, Observer has been able to project government policy thrust, service institutions, and the general public.
“The major tool to do our job had been taken away from us, which is the printing press. We had three in our premises but were not able to access any of them.
“We discovered that there was an agreement. We appealed to Governor Monday Okpebholo to retrieve our printing press to enable us operate effectively, and he has done that.”
