Ibori’s interference rocks Independent Newspapers Limited

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…Also how money meant for payment of salary was diverted to print Delta State govt job

Ibori

STEVE OMANUFEME, MD, INL

 

By our reporter

At the Nations Newspapers, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the proprietor, is said not to interfere in the day to day administration of the company; that is the cup of tea of the Managing Director, Victor Ifiejeh.

Same for the Sun Newspapers’ conglomerate, where its promoter, Orji Uzor Kalu only interferes when it is time to change the editors including the managing director.
And so it is for other leading private newspapers in Nigeria, but for Independent Newspapers Limited (INL), the reverse is the case.
The publisher not only interferes but over rules the decisions of the managing director and the management even when such decisions have been relayed to staff member.

 

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The latest, our multiple sources both at the Lagos headquarters of the newspapers and Asaba, Delta State, which has, in recent years, turned its chicken that lays the golden egg, said Mr. Steve Omanufeme, the managing director, had wanted to pay salary (the second since he assumed office as MD late last year) in this COVID-19 era when others are sacking staff, but was over ruled yet again by  Chief James Ibori, the publisher, who instead, directed that the money meant for the salary payment be used to execute  the printing job he sourced from Delta State govt.

 

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The managing director as we learnt was even in Asaba, in spite of the ban on interstate travel for two days to supervise the printing of the job at the Asaba press. According to our source Omamufeme was in Asaba for two days. As at now, the printers in Asaba press of INL have finished printing the answers sheet of the job meant for the Delta State government for the forthcoming  JSS 111 final examination.

A source close to the Delta State commissioner for Basic Education, Chief Patrick Ukah, did confirm to us that INL is printing the examination materials.

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We also learnt that for a hitch free printing, staff members in Asaba were paid a month out of the over 10 months’ salary areas the company is owning them; however it is  not clear if such was applicable to the staff of the company in Lagos, Abuja and elsewhere.

It will also be recalled that the newspaper last year got a similar contract from the Delta State government to print JSS 111 examination question papers out of which the last payment tranche of N11m was made recently.

Another case of interference in point is the former Governor of Delta State’s cancellation of management changes effected recently and, which had been communicated to the staff members affected. The changes, if it had been allowed, would have swept the editor of the paper, Mr. Don Okere and other top editorial staff members away.
The cancellation polarised the company into MD’s and editor’s camps.

The crisis is rocking the company so much that staff members now discuss in whispers for fear of who is listening, after all, they said, the walls have ears.

“The whole place now has  a peace of the graveyard. Staff members no longer discuss freely for fear of who belongs to what camp and may report the issue to his/her camp,” our source said.

Some of the staff that had remained neutral earlier have joined the factions based on the payment of salaries. It is rumoured that all the staff brought by the publisher are getting paid promptly and regularly but others are owed nine to 10 months salaries. And this, our source revealed further, has made some of them to come to work either twice or thrice in a week.

Enforcement of discipline is practically impossible because the excuse for not coming to work regularly is always lack of transport fare and the effect of COVID-19.

Same sources said the publisher’s intervention in the day to day running of the company did not start today. It was there right since the  inception of the company in 2001.

“Publisher had set up Harefe Press to print Independent newspapers for a fee. Management of the two companies (Harafe and INL) never  see eye to eye and the best solution preferred by the publisher  then aggravated the tension. He eventually sacked the management of the press and handed over the printing press to Independent Newspaper’s management headed then by Mr. Ted Iwere and the press is yet to return the investment made on it .

The publisher was at the centre of the crisis that rocked the company when Akpandem James was in charge of the company as Managing Editor. Akpandem had a sort of misunderstanding with Ikechukwu Amaechi, who was then Editor, Daily and the staff were divided along editor, managing editor lines. The matter lingered for a while and until all the management staff were eased off the system.

While all these lasted, the company stagnated. The latest intervention by the publisher has further polarised the staff because instructions and directives are being taken from different sources.

It was reliably learned that the publisher is showing more interest in the online edition of the publication.

Meanwhile, some staff are of the view that the publisher should give free hands to his appointed MD/E-I-C to run the enterprise as a business concern. The staff urge the publisher to emulate the publisher of The Sun and New Telegraph newspapers.

However, Omanufeme, on Saturday May 20,2020 evening, had this to say in his response to us. “Where did you get that one from. I don’t know about that. It is not true.”

 

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