By Emeka Nze
Abuja
Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT council, yesterday, took their protest against non-payment of several months’ arrears of salary to the NICON luxury hotel venue of 5th GMD Pre- Annual Conference of group of companies owned by a Lagos-based businessman, Dr Jimoh Ibrahim.
Ibrahim’s three newspapers, National Mirror, Newswatch Times and Newswatch International magazines are said to owe their workers arrears of salary ranging from 6 to 13 months and all efforts by the NUJ to get him to pay have proved abortive.
The placard-wielding journalists had stormed the NICON Luxury hotel, Abuja where Ibrahim himself held his guests to a lecture at the 5th GMD Pre- Annual Conference, a programme telecasted live on both the Nigerian Television Authority NTA and African Independent Television (AIT).
While members of his audience listened with rapt attention, the journalists in a large number moved into the hall while one of the leaders began to play the alarm of a megaphone and eventually announced to the gathering that their host owed journalists of several months’ arrears of salary.
Other journalists took strategic position in the hall and brandished their placards and chants of solidarity songs rented the hall.
The publisher, who tried in vain to proceed amidst the protests, was overwhelmed by chant of solidarity songs, while attempts by the security agents present at the venue to bring the situation under control did not yield the desired results.
Later at an intervention meeting at the instance of a traditional ruler, Olu of Igbokoda, a community in Ondo state, Oba Odidiomo Afolabi Oladimeji, who was attending the seminar pleaded with the NUJ members to allow peace to prevail.
He promised the protesting journalists that he would prevail on the publisher to pay those who are working in the three publishing companies and asked the journalists to return at 2pm of the same day to hear the outcome of his meeting with the publisher.
