Leadership (Abuja)
Samuel Aruwan
30 November 2009
Kaduna — The staff of the New Nigerian Newspapers Limited (NNN) have embarked on a working strike starting from yesterday due to the non-payment of seven months staff salaries and other remuneration, a strike action that will keep the newspaper off the news stands today.
The striking staff of the company said it is 'work to rule', to be followed by a full indefinite strike.
As early as 9 a.m. yesterday, the staff converged at the Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna, headquarters of the newspaper company.
Chairman of the joint unions of the company, comprising the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the National Union of Printing and Paper Products Workers (NUPPPROW), Malam Bulama Mustapha, told LEADERSHIP, "We have not been paid our seven months salaries and the 15 per cent increment all together. We are tired of fake promises and playing to the gallery by both the management and the 19 Northern state governors.
" I can tell you that we have no option than to leave the place redundant, but as a point of preserving the legacies of Sir Ahmadu Bello, we will not intimidate anyone or vandalise anything here. This is just a warning strike. If they don't settle us, we will embark on an indefinite strike".
He also blamed the 19 northern states for the newspaper's predicament, saying, "They are killing the company by their actions because they are not patronising us to stand on our own feet. No adverts and other commercial services from them to resuscitate the legacy of the Sardauna".
When contacted for comment, Malam Tukur Abdulrahaman, Editor of the New Nigerian, declined to speak on the ground that only the management of the company could speak. The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Ndanusa Alao, could not be reached.
At around 2 p.m., the Kaduna State Head of Service, Alhaji Habib Balarabe, and the state Commissioner of Police, Tambari Yabo Muhammad, walked into the company's premises and began a dialogue with the staff.
Sources at the meeting said the head of service told the union of the state government's readiness to give the company N10 million aside other materials, and that Governor Namadi Sambo, who is in China, had discussed with the chairman of the Northern Governors' Forum, the Niger State Governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, on the plight of the company and they have agreed that the northern states should, as a matter of urgency, commit the sum of N 10 million each to the company.
He added that it would be wise if the company is entrusted into the care of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation, which was recently launched, as a means of reviving the legacy of the late premier and champion the development of the region.
LEADERSHIP reliably gathered that at the meeting, Mr. Alao lamented the excruciating situation the company is facing and the failure to fulfill pledges by the northern governors, saying that only four states redeemed pledges of N1.5 million each, and that Nasarawa State government gave 10 computers, which he said was a moral booster to the 43-year-old company.
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