Bauchi State Government and Fourteen other shareholders have agreed to inject one billion naira towards reviving the Bauchi Publishing and Printing Company BPPC Limited, the publisher of the popular Trumpeter and Kakaki newspapers.
The Chairman Board of the BPPC Alhaji Shehu Usman stated this at the fifth Annual General Meeting AGM of the company 20 years after it was closed down due to inactivity held at the trumpeter premises along Adamu Jumba road in Bauchi.
Alhaji Shehu Usman who is the State Commissioner of Information said the management of the company is discussing a loan of 1 billion naira to buy digital equipment for quality printing at a 9 percent interest rate in addition to proposed increase in share capital by the shareholders from 30 to 250 million naira in order to refurbish obsolete equipment and provide working capital.
“The board wish to recommend to the shareholders to increase its share capital from N30m to N250m in order to refurbish our equipment’s and working capital. The management is currently discussing a loan of 1 billion to buy digital equipment that provides quality printing which will attract high class customers nationally. The loan attracts only 9% interest rate”, the BPPC Chairman calls.
He said the publishing and printing company established in 1995 has not given any return on investment and currently four key shareholders including Gombe state Government have sold their shares valued at ten million with the company now having 15 shareholders.
“May I on behalf of the Board and Management sincerely apologies to our shareholders who have invested in the company since 1995 without getting any return. Unfortunately, the company was closed down since 2005”, Shehu says.
According to the BPPC Board Chairman, the aim of reviving the company is to produce the Trumpeter and Kakaki Newspapers for effective information dissemination and undertake commercial printing and related ventures on commercial basis to earn profit.
“Even though the production of newspapers is a social service function, it is our intention to continue producing The Trumpeter and its stable mate Kakaki. This is is because there exists a very real need for a newspaper for Bauchi State”, he emphasises.
To achieve these, Shehu Usman disclosed that the board will request the State Government to instruct all MDAs and LGAs to produce a two-page quarterly progress report on their achievements for publishing at a reduced rate, subscribe to at least 15 copies each of the two papers weekly and patronise the commercial printing aspect of the Company.
According to him, the company will adopt modern broadcast by taking advantage of the online resources to go with new trends, as well as recruit and train staff to man the new equipment that would be acquired.
The State Commissioner of Information further stated that the step will mobilise the people to participate fully in government’s development programmes and bridge the communication gap between the government and its people.
The Bauchi Publishing and Printing Company Limited currently has Alhaji Aminu Danmaliki as Managing Director, and fifteen shareholders to include Bauchi State government, 15 Local government areas alongside many individuals.
By Abubakar Baba Ahmad.
