ADVERTISEMENT
  • The Membership Club
  • PT Hausa
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Friday, April 23, 2021
Premium Times Nigeria
  • Home
  • Gender
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • COVID-19
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • #EndSARS Dashboard
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • Home
  • Gender
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • COVID-19
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • #EndSARS Dashboard
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
Premium Times Nigeria
BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Nigerian journalist suspended, Mrs Vivian Ottih

Nigerian journalist suspended, Mrs Vivian Ottih

Nigerian journalist suspended ‘indefinitely’ for requesting salary on Facebook

byCletus Ukpong
May 16, 2020
2 min read

A journalist with the Imo State government, South-East Nigeria, has been suspended indefinitely from her job for taking to Facebook to request her three months unpaid salary and the wages of her co-workers.

Officials said the Facebook post was an “embarrassment” to the Imo State government.

The suspended journalist, Vivian Ottih, is a lawyer and a senior editor with the government-owned IBC Orient FM radio station.

She is the chairperson of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), in Imo State.

Mrs Ottih, on May 4, posted a message on Facebook, appealing to Governor Hope Uzodinma’s media aide, Modestus Nwamkpa, to make a case to the governor on behalf of the workers in the government-owned radio and television stations who were yet to get their February, March, and April salaries.

Mrs Ottih described Mr Uzodinma as a “humble” and “performing” governor, and said the governor may not have been aware of the travails of the workers.

She said in the post that she was personally hard-hit by the situation because she just had a baby weeks earlier.

The journalist, in her subsequent post on May 7, thanked the Commissioner for Information in the state, Declan Emelumba for intervening on behalf of the unpaid workers. “God bless you, Sir,” she wrote.

On May 8, four days after, she was queried by the Imo Broadcasting Corporation.

RelatedNews

It’s Fake: CAN, NSCIA say of document linking Pantami to Yakowa assassination plot

UPDATED : How Deby’s death in Chad may affect Nigeria’s security – FG

#EarthDay 2021: For every student enrolled in this American university, a tree is planted in Africa

Oyetola inaugurates committee to tackle illegal mining

The query, signed by the acting director-general of the corporation, Osuchukwu S. O, said to Mrs Ottih, “I am directed to let you know that this your attitude caused serious embarrassment to Imo State Government thereby ridiculing the government in the eyes of the public with the sole aim of sabotaging the government.”

Mrs Ottih’s response to the query was deemed unsatisfactory by the Imo government which went ahead to suspend her indefinitely from her job.

The state government queried the journalist again on May 15, accusing her of posting the previous query on social media.

TEXEM

The information commissioner, Mr Emelumba, told PREMIUM TIMES the government was not responsible for the delay in payment of the salary. He said the management of the Imo Broadcasting Corporation “refused” to submit the workers’ BVN and bank account details as directed by the government.

Mr Emelumba said the government wanted to pay workers’ salary centrally in order to eliminate “ghost workers”, instead of allowing the various establishments to collect money from the state government to pay their staff as was done in the past.

A journalist in Imo told PREMIUM TIMES that Mrs Ottih made the appeal for the payment of the workers’ salary because she was under pressure from fellow journalists who were also being owed by the state government.

Mr Emelumba said Mrs Ottih posted the Facebook message as an individual person, not as the NAWOJ chairperson.

“Even if she were to issue the statement on behalf of NAWOJ she would still be wrong because she could only speak for women journalists and not for all the workers of the IBC,” the commissioner said.

“RATTAWU (the radio Television Theatre and Art Workers Union of Nigeria) has the statutory duty to do that, but they didn’t do that because they were consulting (with government officials over the issue).”

ADVERTISEMENT

The commissioner said the NAWOJ chairperson could have used other channels of communication instead of taking the issue to Facebook.

PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Emelumba why the government did not sanction the corporation for delaying to send the bank details of their workers as requested by the government.

“If we did it as you would expect, people would accuse the government of being insensitive,” he responded.

The commissioner said he sent out a statement last week giving the parastatals a deadline to comply with the government directive.

“IBC has complied anyway; I think they are about getting their salary if they have not gotten it.”

  • WhatsApp
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Telegram
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket

Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility

Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.

For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.

By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.

Donate


TEXT AD: To advertise here . Call Willie +2347088095401...


JOIN THE CONVERSATION

  • Disqus (12)
premiumtimes



PT Mag Campaign AD

Previous Post

Coronavirus: Patient gives birth in Lagos as 67 more recover

Next Post

COVID-19: PDP urges Buhari to explain Chinese doctors’ whereabouts

Cletus Ukpong

Cletus Ukpong

Cletus Ukpong is PREMIUM TIMES' assistant editor in charge of Nigeria's South-South region. He is a graduate of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Twitter: @CletusUkpong

More News

FILE: Photo of a burnt police station used to illustrate the story

Two police officers killed by gunmen in Enugu – Official

April 22, 2021
India on map

India record world’s largest single-day COVID-19 infection

April 22, 2021
Edo state map

Suspected kidnappers kill civil defence officer in Edo – Official

April 22, 2021
High tension electric powerlines

Power outage in Awka caused by faulty transmission line – Official

April 22, 2021
President Muhammadu Buhari signing

Buhari approves appointment of 18 Appeal Court judges

April 22, 2021
Mr. Akinwumi Adesina on Fatherism in Nigeria

‘Africa is at ground zero,’ Adesina calls for support at US’ climate summit

April 22, 2021
Next Post
Chinese doctors arrive in Nigeria

COVID-19: PDP urges Buhari to explain Chinese doctors’ whereabouts

CAF logo

Coronavirus: CAF approves early cash prizes for Enyimba, Enugu Rangers

Discussion about this post

Search

#EndSARS: Latest Updates




Polaris Bank


JAIZ Ad


Explore Akwa Ibom Ad


Explore Akwa Ibom Ad


Access Bank Ad


NITDA Ad





Glo Ad

Subscribe to News via Email

Enter your email address and receive notifications of news by email.

Join 1,656,257 other subscribers.

Advertisement






netherland biz school Advert



Zenith Advert

ADVERTISEMENT

Our Digital Network

  • PT Hausa
  • Election Centre
  • Human Trafficking Investigation
  • Centre for Investigative Journalism
  • National Conference
  • Press Attack Tracker
  • PT Academy
  • Dubawa
  • LeaksNG
  • Campus Reporter

Resources

  • Oil & Gas Facts
  • List of Universities in Nigeria
  • LIST: Federal Unity Colleges in Nigeria
  • NYSC Orientation Camps in Nigeria
  • Nigeria’s Federal/States’ Budgets since 2005
  • Malabu Scandal Thread
  • World Cup 2018
  • Panama Papers Game
  • Our Digital Network
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Projects
  • Data & Infographics
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • Parliament Watch
    • AGAHRIN
  • Opinion
  • PT Hausa
  • The Membership Club
  • Dubawa
    • Dubawa NG
  • About Us
    • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Store
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

Our website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.