Encomium
HAVE you met with any staffer of Lagos State Television Service, a.k.a LTV 8, recently? Those of us who have been unlucky to do so have our ear drums bombarded with their new sing song which is “happy days are here again.”
This is because since the new man, Mr. Mubashiru Adekunle Ajanaku took over from his predecessor, Mr. Olalekan Adeleke Ogunbanwo, the happiness of the staff has multiplied. The man, according to a source in the station, has just built two new ultra-modern studios. Not only that, he has also bought few new Sony cameras and new furniture.
And to cap it all, he has just increased the costume allowance of the staffers from N5,000 to N25,000.
All these goodies, according to our source, came from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the station. Staffers of the station in the last six months have been overwhelmed with happiness. This is because prior to the coming of the new permanent secretary, Mr. Adekunle Ajanaku, on January 23, 2014, the story has been that of complaints of no fund, which has made it impossible for the management then to provide them with the necessary equipment and adequate welfare. Their monthly salaries were paid late, they did not enjoy any Christmas bonus or gifts. There was constant strife between the management and the union then over the non-remittance of their pension contributions and house rent allowances deducted from their salaries.
All these are things of the past now since Mr. Ajanaku took over.
Their salaries and allowances are now paid as at when due. They now get a lot of gifts during festive periods. For example, the staff were given rice and groundnut oil during Easter. In fact, at the beginning of Ramadan last week, each staff was given half bag of rice with a tin of groundnut oil.
Mr. Mubashiru Adekunle Ajanaku, the man at the helm of affairs in the station came on January 16, 2014, from the Deputy Governor’s Office, where he was a permanent secretary since 2005. He is a graduate of Sociology and Public Administration from the University of Ibadan and University of Lagos, Akoka, respectively.
He joined the Lagos State Civil Service in 1983 and has served in various ministries and parastatals including being General Manager at Lagos State Printing Corporation.
Meanwhile, there is palpable fear among the top echelon of both the television and radio stations over the issue of appointment of General Manager.
The state governor, ENCOMIUM Weekly gathered, is planning to appoint general managers for both the television and radio stations. Towards this end, interview was conducted for all directors in both stations. The interview panel included Mr. Soni Irabor of Inspiration FM, Mrs. Bimbo Oloyede of Channels Television, Mr. Tunji Bello, the state Commissioner for Environment and Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy. There is, however, insinuations amongst the staffers that the government is planning to appoint someone from outside the stations.
This has caused a lot of worries and anxiety amongst the senior staff who are worried about their career progression.
– TOLANI ABATTI
in News
