Five vibrant media workers of the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation(OSRC) who are also members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ondo State chapter were this evening arrested and whisked way to the A division Command of the State Police Force in Akure.
Five vibrant media workers of the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation(OSRC) who are also members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ondo State chapter were this evening arrested and whisked way to the A division Command of the State Police Force in Akure.
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Sources who spoke to SaharaReporters at the premises of the Station today said the workers, part of whom are union leaders in organization, were manhandled by security agents under the instruction of the Director General (DG) of the organization, Mr. Ladi Akeredolu-Ale before they were whisked away by police.
An in-house source told SaharaReporters investigation that the Station's immediate past chapel chairman of the NUJ, Mr. Taiwo Ibitoye, Mr. Akinwumi Abodunde, Mr. Olanrewaju Bankole (Lanre-Cole), Mr. Sam Adeloye, Mr. Sola Obagbemisoye and Mr. Obafemi Sogbe were whiskey away like criminals in a police van this evening.
Workers of the organisation had on Wednesday chased the Director General of the corporation, Ladi Akeredolu-Ale from office over what they call his 'insensitivity' to workers plight.
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The aggrieved workers disclosed that the DG who was brought to head the station from Channels Television, Lagos had no respect for their welfare, despite their yearly Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) amounting to Eighty Billion Naira (N80,000.000.00).
SaharaReporters had reported yesterday that stern looking security agents with no fewer than fifty (50) police officers with two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and about five police patrol vans were stationed at the entrance of the Station's main gate, apparently to forestall any possible of breakdown of law and order by the aggrieved workers.
SaharaReporters learnt that, the appearance of Security agents at the vicinity of the station was a result of 'cooked lies' by the DG that the workers threatened to burn down the station if the government failed to look into their demands. An allegation, the workers denied totally.
The Assistant Commissioner of Police,Mr Edward Ajogun was quoted on Wednesday that he was acting under the instructions given to him which he 'must' carry out.
But the workers said, they are not fighting for their personal greed but were only showing displeasure towards the collapsed structure, equipment, transmitter and the poor office accommodations in the Station with a call on the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko to intervene before the situation gets out of hand.
They alleged that various challenges and problems confronting them in the station were tabled before the Director General, Mr. Akeredolu Ale but he always thwarts them whenever there is opportunity for him to meet the governor.
"Let us state it categorically that the state governor was unaware of the problems facing the station, and various attempts to call his attention to all these problems were thwarted by the management led by the Director General, Akeredolu-Ale".
Spokesman for the media workers, Mr. Taiwo Ibitoye had told SaharaReporters that the Fm station (96.5fm) is already dying while the Television station was standing on one leg due to lack of maintenance, saying that the state government had been supplying diesel to the corporation since 2009 without collecting anything from its IGR, lamenting that no explanation has been given on how the IGR is being spent.
"Honestly, we don’t know what is happening to the revenue of the station when workers welfare are not prioritized, training and re-training are put on hold since 2010, and newsroom ranks as the worst among its peer".
SaharaReporters put a call to the Spokesman of Ondo State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Wole Ogodo who felt reluctant to speak on the issue.
Ogodo blatantly told SaharaReporters that he could not comment on the case but when we press further he directed us to 'search all the Command in the within Akure and if you could find them there, then you might need to tell me' he said out of patience.
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