Staff members of the Nigerian Press Council have decried the non-payment of their salaries and overhead of the establishment from January till date.
Some of the workers who spoke during an interview in Abuja described their living conditions as pathetic.
They urged the Federal Government to rescind its decision to stop funding the council’s activities, including salaries and operations.
A management staff member of the council, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the stoppage of funding of the organisation by the government.
The officer said the Budget Office of the Federation in June 2023, sent a memo to the council, which stated that from January 2024, the Federal Government would no longer fund the organisation.
One of the workers, Kolo Ibrahim said, following the circular from the Budget Office, they have not received salaries since January.
Narrating his ordeal, Mr Kolo said he has been begging friends and relatives to feed his immediate family members and pay his children’s school fees.
“I have become an object of ridicule and stigmatisation, people have stopped borrowing me money, because there is no hope of paying back. I appeal to President Bola Tinubu to hear our cry and rescind his decision on this, so that we can deliver our mandate,” he said.
Another worker of the council, Dan Gomna, said his children had dropped out of school because he could no longer pay their school fees
“Feeding my family is a heavy burden. I have to beg to feed my wife and four children. I owe my landlord, and he has given me up to December 31 to pay my rent or pack out of his property. I am sure that all workers in NPC are facing difficulties. I beg President Tinubu in the name of God to help us. We are suffering due to lack of salaries for eight months and still counting,” Mr Gomna said.
Established under the Nigerian Press Council Act No 85 of 1992, the parastatal under the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, is statutorily empowered to ensure ethical press standards and maintain high professional standards for the Nigerian press.
Reacting to the development, a lawyer, Yemi Oyebamiji, faulted the decision of the government to halt funding of an institution without amending its establishment Act.
He said, “I know this administration has promised to implement the Stephen Oronsaye-led Committee Report on federal civil service reform on learner government. However, the exercise should be done with the due process of the law. I am not aware of any amendment to the statute establishing the council to the effect that the government will no longer fund it. Assuming without conceding that it has been amended, implementing it should be with a human face.
“Where do you expect an organisation like the Nigerian Press Council, that has been bedevilled with many challenges, to source funding for workers’ salaries and its operations from?”
Mr Oyebanji appealed to the federal government to reconsider its decision for the sake of the council’s workers.
Alternatively, he said if the government found no usefulness in the council, it should be scrapped legally and its workers redeployed or paid off.
