Emmanuel Thomas
May 6, 2015 – The Lagos State Government has said that it is accelerating plans to pay all former employees of the defunct Lagos Horizon newspapers, mouthpiece of the state government.
Journalists and ancillary workers of the newspapers were laid off over 10 years ago and are yet to receive their entitlements.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Mrs. Oluranti Odutola made the clarification at a press conference in Lagos. She attributed the delay to change of government and inability to lay hands on documents required to finalise arrangement for the payment.
“As a result of change in government, some of the documents were carted away”, she said adding that those properly disengaged by government will definitely be paid at the current rate. For those yet to get termination letters, she said that they are assumed to still be in service and that they will be paid accordingly.
She said that preparation is now at advance stage to make the payment, stressing that what happened to the former workers could happen to anybody and that arrangements are on to pay them adding that injury to one is injury to all.
In his address, General Manager Lagos Printing Corporation, Mr. Shina Gbamgbose said the agency is no longer the weeping child of government adding that today salaries of staff are paid promptly. He said that the corporation made N335,934,209.44 million in 2014 as revenue and received grant of N52,551,811.44 and subvention to the tune of N22,100,000.
He said the agency recorded N390, 322, 571.54 as total expenditure with a profit of N20,263,449.74.
Earlier, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Remi Ibirogba used the occasion to enumerate achievements of his ministry as encompassing Traffic Radio which he said has been used to drive management of traffic in Lagos.
