The Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr. Bayo Onanuga has faulted the demand by unions in the agency for the promotion of incompetent journalists.
Onanuga stated this in response to rejection of the outcome of the uniform editorial promotion examination for Level 8 to Level 16 staff in the agency and other demands.
The three labor unions in the agency, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services (AUPCTRE), and the Radio, Television, and Theatre Art Workers Union (RATTAWU) have issued a 21-day strike notice for the implementation of three demands.
“I am ashamed as a journalist that the NUJ will be pushing that management should promote those who cannot write good English or are just simply incompetent, ” Onanuga stated.
“My position is that our job is like that of doctors and nurses, and I have always asked staff to imagine a situation where we have killer doctors and killer nurses in our hospitals. Just think of the consequences of having toxic journalists in the newsroom.’’
He explained that he intended to run NAN with competent writers who “can stand on their own’’ anywhere in the world, and not people who could not spell the name of the President of Nigeria or that of China.
In the letter conveying the strike notice to the management, the unions expressed displeasure with “refusal to sign the draft Conditions of Service’’ for the agency.
They are also demanding full payment of transfer allowance to 20 members of staff, declared redundant by management, but were later moved to Abuja and Lagos since February 1, 2017.
