Daily Independent, the Lagos-based newspaper owned by James Ibori, and one of the investments named in money-laundering charges against him, faces an indefinite--perhaps permanent--absence from the newsstands starting tomorrow, after its staff went on strike.
Reason: they have not been paid their salaries for four months.
Saharareporters had earlier exposed the difficulties being faced by the paper when Ibori forced the Philips Consulting firm to take over the management of the the newspaper. Ibori was confronted with sacking the management of the newspaper led by Ted Iwere. The problem was that Mr. Iwere reportedly, a Columbia University product who was the founding editor of the African Guardian, knew too much about the thieving former governor and had threatened to open up.
Ibori then brought in two South Africans, but they have not being able to save the company. The financial and management difficulties confronting the newspaper indicate that Ibori may be facing financial difficulties of his own as UK and US authorities close in on his finances and bank accounts abroad.
Last week some 20 senior staff members of the staff were sacked for refusing to act as the propaganda mouthpiece for Ibori. The management of the paper had tried to compel some of them to embark on writing editorials, letters to the editor as well as attack bloggers on behalf of Ibori. They refused and some of them paid the price with their jobs as they were promptly fired.
The strike is coming on the heels of an image-laundering event for Ibori at the National Institute for International Affairs tomorrow. Ibori reportedly paid a PR company and publishers of "Business Hallmark" run by Prince Emeka Obasi, N50 million to package a talk on the Niger Delta where he will be the keynote speaker. The event itself, which Daily Independent will not be available to play up, is already receiving deserved knocks from Nigerians. Some anti-corruption groups plan to picket the event at the NIIA on Victoria Island, Lagos, at 10:00 AM.
In the past few weeks, Ibori has been on a general image-laundering media tour that have no yield any respite for the embattled UK ex-convict.
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