Workers of the Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation have lamented lack of working tools, the insincerity of government’s repositioning of the media houses exercise and poor working condition.
The aggrieved workers converged under a tree, decrying lack of power supply, poor condition of offices and non-payment of two months’ salary as well as indebtedness of the media outfit to outsider to the tune of millions of naira.
Speaking to journalists who visited the vicinity of the media outfit to find out why both the Radio Kwara AM and Midland FM stations had been off air waves for almost three weeks, the Chairman of the Radio, Television, Theatre and Art Workers Union (RATTAWU), Comrade Rasaq Aremu, described the current situation at the station as worrisome and disastrous.
Comrade Aremu expressed dissatisfaction with the repositioning exercise, lamenting that nothing to show for the project after the injection of millions of naira by the government.
According to him, the staff of the organization had on second to third of September, 2018 embarked on a peaceful protest to raise alarm over the fraudulent repositioning exercise and called for the immediate removal of the Sole administrator of the state owned media houses, Dr. Muideen Akorede who has been in charge of the repositioning.
The labour leader said the two old 35 kilowatt transmitters of the Midland FM had broken down, while the newly purchased 10 kilowatt transmitter developed fault within two weeks when it was installed as a result of lack of UPS.
He decried the inhumane condition which the staff of the radio station are subjected to, saying that the welfare of staff was unattended to, while the corporation’s cooperative societies money was also mismanaged.
Comrade Aremu explained that the present situation at the media outfit had rendered many able staff redundant as the stations were totally off airwaves.
He said ” at a emergency meeting by all workers of the station, it was concluded that the General Manager of the station and all management Staff of the media outfit should leave the premises of the organization and find lasting solution to the predicament of the station “.
Comrade Aremu said the staff of the station were not on strike but were rendered redundant, saying that the transmitter of the A.M station dropped from 50 kilowatt to 5 kilowatt, while there is no running cost from the government to purchase diesel to power the generating sets and buy other necessary equipment the station needs.
The labour leader, disclosed that the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company had cut off the light of the Midland FM, and Broadcasting House at Government Reservation Area, pointing out that it was gathered that the station is owing almost four million naira.
Describing the station as a revenue-generating agency, he lamented the indebtedness of the media outfit, saying that the diesel supplier the station is owing more than four million naira had taken legal action against the organization.
With less than a month to end of the present administration in the state, Comrade Aremu said the staff of the organization at a emergency meeting appealed to the incoming government to please look into the problems of the media outfit and embark on its total overhauling.
Speaking with journalists on condition of anonymity, a staff of the organization who described the repositioning exercise as a complete fraud, also called on the anti-graft agency and the Police to probe the repositioning of the three media houses.
It was gathered that the staff that are resuming work as from eight o’clock in the morning to four O’clock in the afternoon were staying under the tree as a result of poor condition of their offices and lack of power supply.
END
