Ibori again!

564

In continuation of the search for a winning/survival strategy for its more than two decades old newspaper, Independent Newspapers Limited, former Delta State Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, is said to be tinkering with the idea of collapsing the two weekend editions of the newspaper.

Our sources at the newspapers’ headquarters in Lagos told Newdawnngr that ‘the publisher ‘as Ibori is fondly called by his employees, hinted of this move in a meeting with the managers/senior editorial staff on Friday September 25 2020.

This we learnt was after he had tried to compare the fortunes of the paper with ThisDay. A paper he observed is doing better than his on the newsstands. Not minding that he has pumped millions of naira into the business, there hasn’t been a commensurate result.

According to our source, the publisher wants to copy the formula recently introduced by The Nation’s Newspaper owned by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu by collapsing Saturday Independent, which has Mr. Yemi Adebisi as its editor, into Sunday Independent that has Mr. Rotimi Durojaiye as the editor.
In other words both newspapers will have only one editor.

If he goes ahead with the proposal, it will be a repeat of the brain wave the former managing director of the paper, Mr. Ted Iwere had when he once introduced a kind of one newspaper, one editor idea in which Mr. Muka Popoola was made to supervise production of the weekend editions without his name on the inprint.
As a result , both Charles Okogene and Odey Onche, estwhile editors of both Saturday and Sunday editions of the paper respectively were removed.

However, it is on record that after more than 20 years of existence, the paper is among those that are owing journalists working on its stable with more than 10 months salary arrears to its staff; this is apart from the one it is owning its array of ex-staff some of who are in court with it.

Kindly support the growth of journalism in Nigeria

Reactions to stories published can be sent to us at [email protected]


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *