Nasarawa Founding Father Cautions Al-Makura Over Percentage Payment, Moribund Newsday Newspaper, Percentage Payment
Rabiu Omaku
A founding father of Nasarawa state, Ari Gwaska has cautioned the state governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura to expedite action by reviving the moribund Nigeria Newsday,a state owned publishing company, the Nasarawa Publishing Company.
He gave the disclosure when the State Executive Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists presented a meritorious award to the astute politician for his gigantic contributions towards the development of Nasarawa state.
He advised the chief executive to revive the ailing company to quelled the wastage of talent by staffers of the publishing company, saying the payment of its workers amount to wastage of state resource to maintain a moribund company established by the then governor of the state.
He urged the state government to either revive the company or deploy them to various ministries, praying that the state government would approve the introduction of daily production.
“Use our state Newspaper to tell our stories but not relying on other media outfits to tell our stories, and there is no sense in paying workers salary without publication, stating that the idea amounted to misplaced priority”.
Ari Gwaska also pleaded with governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura to reconsider the plight of the common man with the unabated percentage payments in the state to seek for means to augment the lean resource of the state.
Speaking on the twentieth year anniversary of Nasarawa state he gave a damned verdict of the state due to a prolonged communal violence that erupted in the state.
“Internally Displaced Persons are yet to return to their permanent place of abode due to bunches of challenges while of them are yet to receive relief materials from government after he promised and the exercise was publicized”. “I don’t know who is sabotaging the effort of the state government”.
“Why was the federal government and other state able to settle workers’ salaries, the president should not be blame for percentage payment”. He said is not impressive with what was obtainable in the state currently.
“We struggle to get Nasarawa state thinking that the state will develop alongside like Plateau,Infact I’m not satisfied with the pace of development”.
He commended the Nigeria Union of Journalists for finding him worthy by recognizing him, saying the quest for a greater Nasarawa state shall never be in vain.
“At the hit of the rift between the organized labour and the state government over salary cut which leads to the death of two workers at the government House i text the governor for a parley but he turn down the visit as he said he will embark on a foreign voyage”.
“After he returns from his sojourn he did not invite me and that was the end of everything,even in the then Plateau state late Solomon Dauspher Lar listen to my advice that has to do with state issues”.
The former Special Adviser to Plateau state governor on Information described the press as an integral part of the society.
The state chairman of the NUJ,Dan Vintyze Yakubu said the union will always seek for fatherly advice when the need arises, he also lament over dearth of Nigeria Newsday and appealed to the state governor to do the needful.
He also pleaded with the governor to end the lingering rumpus over percentage payment.
The national Vice President, Chief Wilson Bako commended elderly statement for advising the state governor on the need to addressing percentage payment and dearth of Nigeria Newsday and the need to revive it.
Saying the two issues which had generated a lot of uprising by the organized labour, stated that Nigeria Newsday newspaper is an identity of the state, why can’t Nasarawa state government maintain and sustain the newspaper?
“Anything pulling down a worker is percentage payment” he added.
