By Soni Daniels

The Abuja Newspapers Distributors Association (ANDA) has congratulated the new leadership of Newspapers Proprietors Association Of Nigeria (NPAN) that was elected and announced on Wednesday.

The distributors’ President, Comr. Emmanuel John, in a statement he signed on Sunday, 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.

Mr Emmanuel said newspapers 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 monetization 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.

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