A similar exercise last week had seen Obaigbena, who is also the President of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, declaring sacked all those he did not meet in the office when he was there between 2pm and 7pm
Browsing: Nduka Obaigbena
Speaking at a meeting with members of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday, the Minister said it is therefore inconceivable that he would attack the media, as some have insinuated in recent times
Obaigbena, The Nation newspaper is reporting, was then given two weeks within which to refund the money by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
However, as at last week, the television station was in financial crisis, with Obaigbena owing over £3 million in wages and payments to content providers
Sources told The Eagle Online that Obaigbena was sited at the headquarters of the EFCC in Abuja on Tuesday afternoon
Nduka Obaigbena, sometimes known as “The Duke”, and who has been photographed in the company of George Bush and Tony Blair, and hangs out with stars including Naomi Campbell and Beyonce, has employed many senior British journalists and is being pursued over a trail of debts – estimated at £3 million and including nearly £1 million owed to the station’s own workers
This is in respect of his alleged role in the $2.1 billion arms scam that has rocked the office of a former National Security Adviser, retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki
The EFCC had traced N670 million of the money to Obaigbena who in turn explained that N550 million of the amount was compensation for the bombing of the ThisDay building in Abuja by Boko Haram and the remaining N120 million for 12 media houses whose newspapers were seized by the military
Dasuki was said to have given the N670 million to Obaigbena from the $2.1 billion arms deal that was allegedly not executed by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan
As of Friday morning, the EFCC had compiled a list of charges against Dasuki and some others, with the N670 million listed as given to Obaigbena fraudulently
The money was ordered released to Dasuki in Dollar from the CBN as earlier revealed under the watch of the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, as earlier widely reported
The Eagle Online learnt that some staff of the company as at Thursday afternoon had received credit alerts from their banks for the payment of the outstanding salaries
ThisDay, The Eagle Online gathered on Monday, is owing eight months salary, while Newswatch Times is in arrears of six months
A press statement signed by the Atiku Media Office on Tuesday said that the death of Rotimi Azubuike Obaigbena came as a rude shock
ARISE NEWS will be on DStv channel 416 and GOtv channel 44 respectively and will join other global news channels such as CNN, BBC, SKY News, CCTV, Al Jazeera, CNBC and Bloomberg on the MultiChoice platforms
“Others were past President and Ex-Officio, Mr Ray Ekpu; Mrs Nwadiuto Iheakanwa, Group Managing Director of Champion Newspapers (Ex-Officio); Mr. Wale Aboderin, the Chairman of Punch newspapers (Ex-Officio) and the two life patrons of the association who also serve as ex-officio members – Publisher of Vanguard newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka, and Mallam Ismaila Isa
It was learnt that the bulk of the money being used for the running of Arise Television is generated from ThisDay, which is doing quite well in the market despite the shortcomings and failure to pay adequate attention to the welfare of the staff
Sources said the action was taken to reposition the newspaper and that the new editors were appointed to drive the change
Obaigbena has equally vowed to pay the staff what some companies have termed the 13th month salary, which is a bonus for staff for the year
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was said to have been livid about the story