By Ann Ngbea
The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Benue State Chapter has commended The Voice Newspaper for favourably competing with national newspapers.
This commendation was given recently by Dr Joseph Fanafa when he led the Central Planning Committee (CPC) of a book launch in honour Dr Tyotom Keghku on a courtesy visit to the General Manager, Benue Printing and Publishing Corporation (BPPC), the publishers of The Voice Newspaper, Mr Ben Agande in his office.
According to Dr Fanafa, they were impressed with the commitment level the general manager has put in towards the publication of The Voice amidst the hardship the paper is currently facing, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic which has ravaged the economy.
Fanafa who appreciated The Voice Newspaper for cooperating with Dr Keghku in the area of publicity stated that their visit was to notify the BPPC GM of the book launch in conjunction with the honour of Dr Kyeghku. He also stated that the book is slated for launch in celebration of Keghku’s 60th birthday anniversary which will take place on Monday, 10 May, 2021.
He solicited for The Voice’s support to give the event the publicity it deserves.
Speaking, GM BPPC, Mr Agande, who thanked the association for their visit pledged the paper’s support in giving publicity to the event. He said, even without the CPC soliciting for publicity, the newspaper would have done that, owing to the fact that Dr Keghku was worth such an honour in appreciation of his literary contributions in the paper.
Speaking further, Agande stated that The Voice is currently facing a lot of challenges including lack of man power. He however, noted that he has been making tireless efforts to publish the paper and also compete with national papers. He said he had made sure that the paper does not only produce in hard copies but also online and he was ready to do more.
In her remark, member of the CPC and lecturer at the Federal University Lafia, Dr Comfort Ukwela, commended the effort of the General Manager for making sure that The Voice Newspaper was on newspapers stand constantly. She also promised that the association will do more to partner with the paper.
Others present at the courtesy call were, Dr Ben Ebe, former General Manager, BPPC and Director, Planning, Research, Publication and Documentation, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism; Dr Kelvin Alom, State Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Benue State chapter; Mr Paul Ugah, Benue State Chairman, ANA.