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By Mandy Tina
Some staffers of the Rivers State Broadcasting corporation have staged a protest shutting down operations on Monday 12 February, 2024, over alleged “management’s poor performance.”
The staff who gathered at about 6:am locked the station entrance while accusing the management of neglect and corrupt system of leadership.
In an interview with our correspondent, chairman of the Radio Rivers Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Lekia Anya, decried the decay of facilities which he said has crippled the services of the company.
“It is an accumulated issue that we have been trying to dialogue with the management and management turned deaf ear over it. We are not fighting for only the staff of Radio Rivers, we are fighting for the entire Rivers State.
“This station is the only voice of Rivers State, this is our own company, this is our own farm and we all are from Rivers State. The situation of Radio Rivers now is heading to demarket the state.
“If you look we have our OB van, it is abandoned nothing happened to it they just kept it there, so that they will not use it to promote the image of government and encourage Rivers State.
“Many people at the interland listen to the station, for years now nobody listen to the station If they come on air today, tomorrow they go off air especially when they see little internal generated revenue, they share it amongst themselves. For a week now the station is off air nothing has been done in that regard”.
Former State Chairperson of the Radio Television and Theatre Workers Union, Opi Erekosima, noted that the protest was not targeted to bad market the government of Gov Fubara but to call the attention of government to the failure of management.
“You can see what is going on the gate is locked, the station is off on it’s own first before the Union are now saying is enough. I want us to understand that for what you are seeing today the three (3) C’s consolidation, consultation, confrontation of labour movement in terms of negotiation before taking action has been exhausted by both Nigeria Union of journalist (NUJ) and Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU).
“They have all documents to prove to that before people will start saying why is it now, it is been hijacked by politician’s, no it is a crime that has been going on and the two Union has been using whatever means they know how to do best to talk, appeal and dialogue with management.
“It has gotten to the point where is now obvious that the staff have gotten to their limit and that is what is happening”.
Commissioner of Information Johnson Joseph, however appealed for calm urging the aggrieved workers to allow the government intervene.
“I thank you people for the honour to allow me hear you out. I want to say am just a messenger, I would look at your complains and channel it to the appropriate authority.
“I am a unionist and we usually say in law that one’s there is a dispute we can not negotiate. When a woman is pregnant we usually do not give her out in marriage, you allow the baby to be born before the marriage rite will be done.
“It is my appeal, I do not want you to take laws into your hands, this property belongs to all of us, what you are doing is called fiduciary responsibility and you are holding it in trust for Rivers people. Therefore, allow me get to his Excellency Governor Siminalayi Fubara and in no distant time come back”.
