News

Backlogged Unremitted Pension: Former Nation Staff Petition PenCom, Want Fund Paid

Published

5 years ago

October 9, 2020

Former staff of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation newspapers have petitioned the Director General National Pension Commission (PenCom) over backlog of unremitted pension due to workers.

They want the unremitted funds be paid with the outstanding interests to the workers by The Nation Newspapers.

In a statement signed by Musa Odoshimokhe, former chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, The Nation chapel, said the management had violated the extant laws that sought to protect workers future by ensuring that workers and their employers set part of their earning aside against the rainy day.

He said, “Unfortunately while workers part of the bargain had been deducted from source, the management of The Nation failed to remit such funds to (Pension Fund Administrator (PFA).”

Odoshimokhe, who is a member of the Lagos State Executive Council of NUJ, added that all that should have accrued to workers in term of interests from the unremitted fund had found itself in private pockets at the detriment of workers future savings.

“This petition has the backing of Lagos NUJ because we are talking of workers welfare in the first place. The workers have been cheated over the years because if the money had been remitted as when due it would have be been increased in term of financial gains.

” It has become habitual by The Nation management to hold on to workers contributory pension only to add up the sum of money owed disengaged workers and pay them the money without interests, thereby denying such workers what they should have earned.

“Incidentally, the unremitted fund by management is being used for business without due consideration to how it affects its staff. For instance, the management quickly shed over 100 of its staff away during Covid 19 just a few weeks after the lockdown was announced.

“It is the same company that had lost money close to one billion naira to fraudulent activities without one single person arrested or prosecuted. Most of the perpetrators of the fraudulent activities were recruited into the system by many top management staff, and were granted soft landing after they succeeded in pilfering the company’s resources. There is no guarantee that the trend will end as long as it remain under the command of same structure.

“Our members are demanding for their money with due interests on what was deducted from their legitimate earnings.”

Odoshimokhe also lamented that many of his colleagues who were recently disengaged were only given stipend ranging from between N70,000 to N150,000 as severances packages after putting between five and eight years or more into the system.

“This simply shows that we have a heartless management in the saddle. Many of our remembers were sacked at the peak of Covid-19 pandemic and after about four months were given a pittance. How do you expect such people to restart their lives and even move on? That attests to the poor salary and welfare structure by the management.

“This is place where workers were stagnated or even never get promoted for over 12 years and more simply because management does not like your face.

“All we want now is adequate remittance of our pension with interest accrued paid. Our severance packages is like a drop in the ocean. However, with our pension, many of us can start life again on a new note.”

News

MOWAA: Okpehbolo Receives Edo Assembly Resolution Indicting Obaseki

Published

5 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Editor

Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, received report and resolutions of the Edo State House of Assembly which indicted former Governor Godwin Obaseki on the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) and the Radisson Hotel projects.

Recall that the Edo Assembly raised a five-man committee to investigate funding and ownership of both projects following a request by Governor Okpebholo.

Okpebholo, who spoke after receiving the report said its findings and recommendations would be fully implemented.

Okpebholo said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would be invited to further examine issues raised in the recommendations.

According to him, the Edo State Government has significant stakes in the MOWAA and Radisson Blu hotel having invested ₦3.8bn respectively in both projects.

He said changes in the structure and nomenclature of the MOWAA project made the investigation unavoidable.

Okpebholo said it was unacceptable to suggest Edo State has only 10 per cent stake in the Radisson Blu hotem despite investing over ₦28bn.

“Edo State has spent over ₦3.8 billion on this project, yet some people are saying the state has no stake in it. That is totally unacceptable. I will work with your recommendations and forward them to the relevant authorities to investigate what truly happened. We will also involve the EFCC.

“Our investment in this project is over ₦28 billion. We must invite the EFCC to step in and determine if this is how businesses are conducted in Nigeria,” he said.

In its recommendations passed by the Assembly, the five-man committee headed by Hon Addeh Isibor, urged the Edo State Government to take possession of both projects.

It asked Governor Okpebholo to contract competent hands to complete renovation of the Hotel and take all steps to put the Hotel to use.

The recommendations urged the Edo State Government to revoke “the fraudulent Certificate of Occupancy to the property issued in the name of Hospitality Investment and Management Company Limited and revert same to the Edo State Government that purchased the property.

“That the Edo State Government initiate legal action and work with relevant Anti-graft Agencies to retrieve both the complete statement of account and the balance of the Seventeen Billion, Five Hundred Million Naira (N17,500,000,000.00) Bond proceeds still in the possession of the Escrow Agents. Meristen Trustees Limited and Emerging Africa Trustees Limited.

“The title to the MOWAA Property having never been revoked, same remains the property of the Central Hospital, Benin City

“That the Edo State Government immediately takes all necessary step to put the property to good use in the best and overriding public interest of the people of Edo State.”

Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku, said the facts about MOWAA and Radisson Blu Hotel were now clearly documented in resolutions and outcomes.

News

Sheikh Gummi Sues Two Over Alleged False Facebook Publication

Published

7 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Editor

Prominent Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gummi, has approached the Chief Magistrate Court in Kaduna, seeking the issuance of a criminal direct complainant summons against two Facebook users over alleged criminal conspiracy, attempt to cause public disturbance and criminal defamation.

The application, filed at the Chief Magistrate Court sitting on Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kaduna, listed the defendants as George Udom and Bello Isiaka.

According to him, the defendants allegedly published a “Breaking News” statement on their respective Facebook pages on December 23, 2025, between 7:00 am and 10:00 am, attributed to him, threatening that the family of the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, would be eliminated if military operations against bandits were not stopped.

Gummi alleged that the publication was falsely attributed to him, as his photograph was allegedly used alongside the statement, giving the impression that he issued the threat against the Defence Minister.

The Islamic scholar stated that following the publication, he received numerous phone calls from concerned members of the public who believed he authored the statement and was attempting to intimidate the Minister of Defence in the discharge of his official duties.

He further maintained that the publication portrayed him as a troublemaker and a threat to public peace, despite his long-standing reputation as a cleric known for preaching peace and harmony within and outside Nigeria.

The complainant argued that the alleged publication was capable of inciting public disorder in Kaduna State, particularly Southern Kaduna, and could expose him to danger by presenting him as a prime suspect in the event of any attack on the Defence Minister’s family.

He also contended that the actions of the defendants amounted to an attempt to cause public disturbance and criminal defamation of his character.

Dr Gummi told the court that the alleged acts contravened Sections 59, 57, 372, 116 and 117 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.

The application, dated December 24, 2025, was filed by a team of lawyers led by Suleiman Danlami Lere, with the complainant urging the court to summon the defendants to answer to the allegations.

News

JUST IN: Kano Lawmaker, Sarki Aliyu Daneji, Dies Hours After Colleague’s Passing

Published

8 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Editor

Hon. Sarki Aliyu Daneji, the lawmaker representing Kano Municipal in the Kano State House of Assembly, died on Wednesday, barely hours after the death of his colleague, Hon. Aminu Sa’adu Ungogo.

The Director-General, Media and Public Relations, Government House, Kano, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, confirmed Daneji’s death to journalists in Kano.

Daneji’s demise came shortly after the passing of Hon. Ungogo, who was the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations and represented Ungogo Local Government in the Assembly. Ungogo, a member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), reportedly died after a brief illness.

He was said to have been at the Kano State House of Assembly earlier in the day, attending a committee meeting before his death.

The sudden loss of the two lawmakers within a short interval has thrown the Kano State House of Assembly into mourning, with colleagues, party members and constituents expressing shock and grief over the tragic development.