From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
Amidst alleged questionable sale of NNN properties, workers of the New Nigerian Newspapers, NNN yesterday staged a peaceful Protest demanding immediate payment of their entitlements.
Covering an expanse of land, measuring 18.737 meters, the multi-million Naira Nagwamatse House which is also an eleven-storey building and the highest in Kaduna City Centre, was allegedly sold off, leaving the workers facing serious hardships.
The workers carrying placards with various inscriptions describing their agonies, asked the 19 Northern State Governors to compel the management of the NNN to immediately pay them all their entitlements without further delay.
In a statement issued by representatives of the workers, Amos Mathew and Nicholas Dekera, the workers urged the Northern Governors’ Forum, (NGF), to compel the Management of the company, headed by Mr Yusuf Musa Kontagora, to immediately pay all NNN workers all entitlements without any further delays.
The statement explained that the NGF, headed by the then Chairman, now Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, at a meeting on April 29, 2016, in Kaduna, agreed to the total liquidation of the company and all its landed property across the country to settle its liabilities once and for all.
Given the above, the statement said a committee was set up with its membership drawn from Northern Capital Properties Limited (NCPL), New Nigerian Newspaper management, EFCC and Office of the Kaduna SSG which commenced the sale of NNN properties immediately.
The former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to fast track the process for payment of workers’ benefits, facilitated the payment and liquidation of all outstanding pensions and gratuities of all Federal Government Workers under N by Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, (PTAD) in December 2021.
“Surprisingly N Management and the committee that turned deaf ears to Northern Governor’s directives to pay workers went ahead to expressly spend about 200 Million Naira on contractors and other unknown expenditures out of the money realised without paying a penny to Workers,” the statement said.
It added that before the NGF directives for sales of New Nigerian Newspapers property for settlement of workers entitlements, there was a court matter instituted by the pensioners at the Federal High Court, with suit number FHC/KD/CS/137.
The statement added that in early 2023 after PTAD verified and began payment of monthly pensions, the duo of Barrister Iweka and Idi Sule returned to court over an initial out-of-court settlement item- check-up dues.
“The Federal High Court in May 2022 garnished the GT Bank account number 0605091406 with the account name “New Capital Properties Ltd” where all monies realized for sales of properties was lodged.
“The garnishee was vacated, but again the management and the committee failed to pay workers their benefits even with express orders from former Kaduna SSG to present documents for onward approval and payments.”
