Abuja — The managing direc-tor of New Nigerian Newspapers Ltd, Mr. Ndanusa Alao, has been directed to proceed on retirement from public service by the end of July, this year.

A source told LEADERSHIP in confidence last night that the directive was issued by the owners of the company, the 19 northern state governors, during their meeting held in Kaduna last month.

Mr. Alao was appointed MD in 2003 by former president Olusegun Obasanjo when the first MD appointed by Obasanjo, Dr Umar Faruk Ibrahim, secured appointment as the spokesman of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna.

He is the longest serving staffer of the 42-year-old newspaper company, having joined it in the 1970s as a sports reporter.

Under him, the fortunes of the otherwise respected company have massively plummeted, both editorially and financially.

Salaries and pensions remain unpaid for several months, a factor at the root of an ongoing industrial dispute.

The company's workers accuse him of absenteeism, embezzlement and outright incompetence.

Last month, they gave him a three-week ultimatum to pay up the backlog of salaries and pensions or they would shut down the company perpetually.

They have also asked the northern governors to remove him because the two yardsticks for his retirement - maximum 35 years of service and his age - recommend him for retirement or removal.

During their meeting last month, the governors resolved to privatize the company, with the Kaduna State government as core investor.

Mr. Alao is also known by his derisive nickname of "Mr. Third Term Publisher," following his desire to help Chief Obasanjo secure a third term in office, using the New Nigerian newspapers.

This was at the root of the disagreement between him and the then editor of the daily, Malam Mahmud Jega, whom he forced out of office..

Malam Jega is now the editor of Daily Trust.