The Nigeria Union Of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna State Council, has appealed to the Northern Governors Forum to settle the entitlements of retired workers of New Nigerian Newspapers.
In a communique issued following a congress of the union presided over by the Council Chairman, Comrade Abdulgafar Alabelewe, the journalists frowned at the inability of the governments of the Northern states – owners of the famous Newspaper Company established by the late Ahmadu Bello – to pay severance benefits of their former workers, despite realizing far more than the amount needed to settle staff liabilities from sales of assets of the establishment.
According to the journalists, “We observed with grave concern the plight of former workers of the New Nigerian Newspapers over the deliberate refusal of Northern State Governors chaired by Gombe State Governor to settle their entitlements which has resulted to the death of 111 former staff and 45 others on admission battling various ailments.”;
NUJ called on the concerned authorities to take immediate steps towards ensuring that the outstanding benefits of the NNN workers are paid without further delay.
The Council while commending the efforts of Kaduna State Government and residents in addressing insecurity across the state, also expressed concern over what it called “resurgence of street gangsters in the metropolis”;, especially motor parks and pedestrian bridges among other flashpoints.
The Council equally acknowledged the success of adopting the non-kinetic approach by the Uba Sani administration in fighting banditry and other forms of insecurity in parts of the state.
The union then expressed satisfaction over the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa’s collaboration with Kaduna State Government in tackling kidnapping and banditry across the state.
The communique called on the state government to rethink the decision of relocating the Ministerial Briefing to Government House, instead of NUJ Press Centre, saying that it is the only place where it would be given broader coverage – being more accessible to pressmen – for transparency, accountability and citizens engagement.
