The Chairman of Global Fleet Companies and Publisher of Newswatch Daily, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, has sacked arbitrarily the Executive Director Editorial of the recently-introduced daily newspaper, Femi Ige.
Ibrahim, it was learnt, ordered the sack without the opportunity of hearing of Ige over a photograph published on the front page of the August 17, 2013 edition of Saturday Newswatch.
The photograph, The Eagle Online, was offensive to Ibrahim because it had in it Barrister Wole Olanipekun (SAN).
The publisher and Olanipekun fell out over the role purportedly played by the lawyer in the saga of Ibrahim’s failed airline project, Air Nigeria.
Ibrahim was said to have enquired about who authorised the use of the photograph.
On being told Ige sent in the photograph, Ibrahim ordered his sack without giving him the opportunity of a hearing.
For a number of senior staff of the organization, the procedure adopted for the sack of Ige made the case worse.
The Managing Director of Newswatch Daily, Moses Jolayemi, was not informed before Ige was given his sack letter and asked to leave immediately without any benefit.
Added to this was the fact that Ige’s sack letter was signed by a junior officer to him in the organization, the Administrative Manager.
A source told The Eagle Online: “It will not be the first time that oga (Ibrahim) will take such a step against Ige.
“The first time was when he also ordered the arbitrary sacking of the Features Editor of the newspaper, Kassim Omololu, for publishing an article on the Synagogue Church of All Nations, pastored by T.B. Joshua.
“Jimoh Ibrahim was actually going to sack Ige along with Omololu over the usage of the feature article, which he was not pleased with.”
A source told The Eagle Online that there are moves to pacify Ibrahim and ensure the return of Ige to the company.
Added the source: “But how does the chairman think Ige will feel after the humiliation and how does he think other staff will take it.
“Gradually, the journalism profession is being lost to people without the requisite knowledge of how the media industry works but who have the money to throw around.
“Yet they do not listen to sound advice from managers they have employed to oversee the business for them.
“Ibrahim does not seem to be aware that such interferences in some dead publications led to their demise.
“He really needs to watch it.”
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