Okocha Unveils Book On Rivers’ Eminent Persons

The Chief of Staff, Rivers State Government House , Hon Tony Okocha yesterday in Port Harcourt unveiled a book on Eminent Persons in Rivers State, a compendium of men and women who distinguished themselves in different endeavours in the state which was compiled by the Rivers State Newspaper Corporation (RSNC) publishers of  The Tide group of newspapers.
The Chief of Staff who was chairman of the event expressed excitement at the effort of the corporation and said the ‘Eminent Persons of Rivers State’ was a wonderful attempt by RSNC to chronicle the history of persons who had played major roles in the state and recommended the book for schools and the general public.
The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari who was elated by the feat achieved by the RSNC said the day was a special one for the corporation and the  state government as the agency under the Ministry of Information and Communication had achieved another milestone.
She said the book was a laudable initiative by The Tide to unmask the actors who had contributed immensely for the development of the state in diverse endeavours.
The commissioner promised that omissions and errors in the book would be corrected in the next edition and commended the management of  The Tide for making the state proud.
She said the state government would offset cost of  production of the compendium for the corporation.
Mrs Semenitari further disclosed that the state government had concluded plans to develop a media village at Elelenwo which would  house all the state-owned media houses akin to the style of the legendary British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London.
In his address, the General Manager of RSNC, Mr Celestine Ogolo said Eminent Persons in Rivers State was intended to be presented to the public in December last year but was shifted due to unforeseen challenges.
He noted that RSNC which was established in 1971 by the Diete Spiff administration in the state is the only surviving state  newspaper in Nigeria and promised not to relent in projecting the programmes and policies of the state government.
Ogolo commended the state Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi and the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari for transformation going on in the corporation. He said apart from the rehabilitation work in the premises of the corporation since the establishment of the corporation, a full colour rotary machine already manufactured is expected to arrive in a few week.
The General Manager promised that the rotary machine would fasten the printing of the newspaper and other commercial jobs with improved standard.
Director of Publication in RSNC and Chairpersons of the planning committee, Mrs Julieth Njowhor commended the large turn out.

Chief of Staff of Rivers State Government House, and chairman of the occasion, Sir Tony Okocha, unveiling the book.

Chris Oluoh