Soludo renders 200 journalists, media staff jobless

Governor Chukwuma Soludo has reportedly decided to shut down the Anambra State government-owned National Light Newspaper publishing company leaving about 200 staff members at danger of losing their jobs.

During the most recent State Executive Council (SEC) meeting at Government House in Awka, Soludo advised members that the newspaper company was not giving any value to the government or the state’s economy and hence had to be shut down.

Journalists, accountants, printers, security personnel, cleaners, and others are among those who are expected to be affected.

The head of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Emeka Odogwu Emeka, and the commissioner for information, Chief Paul Nwosu, both condemned the move to close the newspaper company and sack the workers.

However, they said that the plan to shut down the company and sack workers had not been carried out. Emeka Odogwu begged with the governor not to shut down the newspaper company stating that doing so would put the workers out of job and cause financial hardship for hundreds of their dependents.

As an alternative to shutting down the publication, the NUJ leader offered that workers be redeployed to state departments where their services would be required.

According to reports, the state newspaper corporation employs journalists as correspondents/reporters in many other states around the country, mainly in the South East zone and Abuja, the nation’s capital.

It was discovered that the National Light Newspaper reporter assigned to the governor’s press team had already been let off. The topic of National Light was still being debated by the Anambra State Executive Council (ANSEC) at the time of this publication, and a final decision is likely to be made public soon.