The troubles surrounding the once vibrant National Newspaper may prove insurmountable for the owners and managers of the National Newspaper. Information available to 247ureports.com indicates that the managers of the newspaper made a failed attempt at returning to business on Wednesday May 15, 2015 while promising to pay its workers owed salaries.
According to a competent source within the news daily, the managers of the paper had intended on returning to business on Wednesday after it had promised its workers that it will pay a substantial amount of their owed salaries. But as the workers, who are owed up to 10 months of salaries, made their way into the work premises of Champion Newspapers, the Executive Director of operations [Sam Ibemere] decided to renege of his promise – and instead decided to surprise the workers – with a N10,000 payment towards the owed salaries. Each worker in the Lagos was offered N10,000 as payment towards defraying the 10months salary owed them.
Our source indicates that the workers were quick to reject the N10,000. The matter was reported to the National Union of Journalist [NUJ] – who then, in reaction, vowed that management must pay all outstanding salaries before resuming operation. With this, the operations at the Newspaper shut down again – this time for another 10 days.
The Executive Director of the company, Sam Ibemere, who is reportedly the arrowhead of the Champion Newspapers, is said to have declared the additional 10 days break from production in order to enable the Newspaper seek for financing. Already, the Sam Ibemere along with the daughter of the owner of the newspaper had open talks with a bank in Lagos for a possible loan of N300million to enable it continue production – the talks are ongoing with Diamond Bank. Available information indicates that the talks may not be going well with the Bank but it remains uncertain.
The executive director in his desperate attempt to raise finances had approached the owner of the newspaper, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, to solicit for funds but the owner was not receptive. According to our source, the owner had refused to continue to release monies into the Newspaper without appreciable returns. The source also added that an ongoing turmoil within the family of Iwuanyanwu made be a contributing factor – to the ongoing neglect of the Newspaper.
As gathered, the owner of the Newspaper – following the death of his first wife – had opted to remarry a much younger woman. The first did not bare him a male child. They had three daughters together. But through the period he was married to the first wife, he had children with other woman – including one from his housemaid [a male]. Some of the other children were also male. And the community which Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu hails from – are said to have recognized the male children as legally his according to the traditions and customs. Through this, an added pressure to handover the management of the Champion Newspaper from the daughter of the first wife to one of the sons has risen to near unbearable point for the aging owner.
To add muster to the already soiled situation, the new wife of the owner of the Newspaper has been reported to be pregnant. The news of her pregnancy is said to have added a new dimension to the quagmire.
