The Group Managing Director of Energy Group, Jimoh Ibrahim, did the unthinkable Monday when he sacked Bolu Afolayan, the Managing Director of one of his companies, Newswatch Media Limited, during a live TV broadcast in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
This followed a protest by some members of Nigerian Union of Journalists at the 5th Energy Group GMD Conference held at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.
After announcing the sack of Afolayan, who is said to be Ibrahim’s friend, he went on to appoint on the spot Demola Abimboye as the new managing director.
The protesters, who had stormed the hall while Ibrahim was taking his staff on a strategy lecture, launched into protest songs demanding for their 14 months salaries.
For 15 minutes, the drama was beamed live on AIT.
Unperturbed in spite of Ibrahim’s attempt to bully them by calling for security operatives to move them out, the protesters said the confab won’t continue unless Ibrahim or his representatives spoke with them.
Speaking after the protesters had been convinced to have a meeting with some of the Group executives, Ibrahim said he had no apologies owing the staff members because they failed to generate their income after he has given them all the wherewithal to perform optimally.
“I cannot borrow to pay their salaries. It is not sustainable,” Ibrahim said.
According to him, it’s only the media section of 16 companies in his conglomerate that has salary issue.
But the man many see as “Corporate Bully” said he was ready to deal with the problem from that moment.
In line with that, typically of Ibrahim, the eccentric businessman threw overboard the imperatives of rules of engagement in corporate governance and sacked Afolayan.
Abimboye, who was immediately announced as Afolayan’s replacement, is a seasoned journalist and until now editor of Newswatch Magazine.
He was at the conference when the entire sordid drama played out on live TV.
The Sun.
. Our apology: The Eagle Online had erroneously reported in a breaking news the sack of the management team of the Newswatch Daily.
The error is regretted.
Our earlier story: The Chairman of Energy Group, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, has announced the sacking of the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director one of his companies, Newswatch Daily, Moses Jolayemi and Makinde Bankole.
However, both Jolayemi and Makinde had resigned before the bizarre manner of the termination of their employments on a live television programme on Monday morning by Ibrahim.
While Jolayemi, popularly known as Black Moses, had resigned from the company since last year, Bankole resigned last week.
Bankole’s resignation, without any notice, was said to have angered Ibrahim, hence the resort to the purported termination of their appointments on live television.
Bankole, the Deputy Managing Director of the controversial publication, has been acting as the MD since the exit of Jolayemi as the MD/Editor-in-Chief before he also resigned last week.
Ibrahim, at a training conference of his companies, aired live on the Nigeria Television Authority and African Independent Television, pointed at one of the trainees, asking him to go and take over the leadership of Newswatch Daily.
He said anyone who knew Jolayemi and Bankole should tell them that they had been relieved of their duties.
He said Newswatch was his only company that has been unable to meet its salary obligations.
This is however far from the truth.
While Newswatch Daily is owing its workers 11 months salary, another of his publications, National Mirror, is also owing staff eight months salary.
Staff of NICON Insurance are also being owed salaries, some sources said.
The staff of National Mirror stormed the venue of the conference on Monday to protest the non-payment of their salary.
Ibrahim, however, said he would be willing to assist the new helmsman of Newswatch Daily for the first first months in the saddle, adding that after this, he has to contend solely with running the company.
Staff are quick to point to the undue interference of Ibrahim as one of the reasons why the media outfits are failing.
Jolayemi and Bankole are not the first set of leaders of Ibrahim’s companies to resign over his managerial style.
The first MD/Editor-in-Chief of the rejuvenated National Mirror, Abiodun Rauf, resigned in controversial circumstances also.
So also did Steve Ayorinde, who is now the Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, resign from National Mirror.
Popular politician, Kafilat Ogbara, equally resigned from National Mirror over the same issue.
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