Anambra Assembly Moves to Shut Down National Light Newspaper

The Anambra House of Assembly has officially terminated the existence of the state-owned National Light newspaper. The legislative move came to fruition on Thursday when the assembly repealed the law that established the Anambra State Newspapers and Printing Corporation, the entity responsible for publishing the National Light.

During the plenary session, Speaker Somtochukwu Udeze conducted a voice vote, leading to the successful passage of the bill repealing the Anambra State Newspapers and Printing Corporation Law 1994. This critical decision was driven by the economic impracticality and perceived obsolescence of the corporation, as outlined by the majority leader, Ikenna Ofodeme, who sponsored the bill on November 21.

Ofodeme emphasized that the corporation had become economically unviable and no longer served its intended purposes. Following the repeal, the assembly outlined transitional provisions allowing the governor discretionary powers to redeploy the supporting staff of the defunct corporation to various ministries, departments, and agencies.

Speaker Udeze declared, “The Anambra State Newspapers and Printing Corporation Law 1994 is hereby repealed,” and further detailed the compensation and gratuity plans for the affected staff. The legislation, officially named the “Anambra State Newspapers and Printing Corporation Repeal Law 2023,” is slated to take effect on December 14.

The next step involves the transmission of the clean copy of the bill to the governor for final assent, as directed by the speaker. This development marks a significant shift in the media landscape in Anambra State, prompting discussions on the future of state-owned media entities and the evolving role of traditional newspapers in the digital age.