Newspaper Distributors Hail Kabiru’s Emergence As NPAN President

The Abuja Newspapers Distributors Association (ANDA) has congratulated the new leadership of Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN).

In a statement he signed yesterday, the distributors’ president, Comrade Emmanuel John, said the re-election of the chairman of Media Trust, publishers of the Daily Trust Newspapers and Trust Television, Mallam Kabiru Yusuf, was a right step in the right direction.

Emmanuel said newspaper distributors had great confidence in the ability and capacity of Mallam Kabiru and his team, to take NPAN to the next enviable level.

He assured NPAN of the maximum co-operation of distributors in ensuring that the newspaper industry continues to survive despite all odds.

The president stressed the need for NPAN to take seriously the issue of monetisation that has continued to hurt the newspaper industry. He appealed to NPAN leadership to engage the federal government with a view to cancelling the policy so that monies appropriated for newspapers could be used for that purpose.

Speaking on the decay of infrastructure at the Abuja distribution centre and distributors’ welfare, Emmanuel appealed to NPAN leadership and members to contribute generously towards the erection of befitting structures and also review commissions on all titles from the present 30 percent to 40 percent to alleviate the pains of distributors and vendors who are finding it very difficult to cope with the current economic crisis in the country.