Chairman of the Committee on
Information, Security and Publicity of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon.
Segun Olulade has condemned the management of the Lagos State Printing
Corporation (LSPC) over the poor state of facilities in the parastatal.
Olulade maintained that it is a
shame that the printing corporation did not meet up with the mega city project
of Lagos State.
Speaking during a visit to the
premises of the corporation last week as part of his familiarization tour, the
lawmaker, who is representing Epe Constituency 2 in the House, said that the
equipments in the corporation are a disgrace to the state and that the Governor
was definitely not aware of the state of things in the corporation.
According to him, “It is a shame
to the state, the General Manager of the corporation and the Commissioner for
Information would be summoned to the House of Assembly next week. The situation
is poor, it is uncalled for. It is a shame to Lagos mega city project,” he said, adding
that the corporation needed a general overhauling for the place to move
forward.
The committee members were
received by the Secretary of LSPC Board, Mr. Sina Bamgbose as the General
Manager, Mr. Agaba was said to be indisposed.
Also, a member of the committee,
Hon. Ipoola Omisore said that the House would like to know everything about the
corporation, stressing that it is unfortunate that the management could not do
anything to help the corporation, which he said ought to be doing all the
printing jobs of the state government.
Just as the committee members
made to leave, some of the staffers of the corporation met them in the premises
with placards complaining that they have not been paid January and February
2012 salaries. They also complained of poor welfare package and failure of the
management to remit their pension funds deducted from their salaries to the
appropriate quarters.
The committee had earlier visited
the state Ministry of Information where they were received by the Commissioner,
Hon. Lateef Ibirogba, Special Adviser to the Governor on Information, Mr.
Lateef Raji, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry and other key management
staffers.
Olulade stated that the committee
was at the ministry to see things for themselves, while commending the workers
for their commitment to duties. He told the hosts that he would be glad if they
work with his committee to project the good works of the state government.
“If the press does not showcase
what we do, nobody will see us. Lagos
is seen as the standard or model for others on how government should be run.
This team has been working to showcase what we do. If this ministry is given
support to train the staff, it would be better for the state,” he stated.
In his submission, Hon. Omisore
said that all those who work with the Ministry of Information are efficient,
and that no state television or radio station can beat those of Lagos State.
The Information Commissioner,
Hon. Ibirogba said that what has kept the station going was the fact that the
workers see themselves as one family. He said that the professionals are
working, and that the Permanent Secretary of the ministry is like a mother to
all.
The visit was later extended to
Lagos State Broadcasting Corporation comprising LTV 8 and Radio Lagos the next
day.
Olulade and his members team
expressed satisfaction with the progress at the Lagos Television to the
station's Permanent Secretary, Mr. Lekan Ogunbanwo, who took them round the
studios and facilities at the station. The committee later met with the workers
of the media house, who used the occasion to express their grievances over the
staff welfare in the station. The PS and senior staffers of the station were
told to leave the auditorium, when the staffers were encouraged to speak their
minds to the committee.
Some of the issues raised were
late payment of salaries, non-payment of some allowances, non-provision of
staff bus, poor salaries, and lack of acceptable health centre amongst others.
When confronted with the issues
in his office, Ogunbanwo told the committee that the station could not meet its
monetary obligations as the subvention from the state government is inadequate.
“We receive N3 million from the
state government monthly, while we spend N25 million on salaries, N4 million on
NEPA bills and another N6 million on diesel for the generators monthly, we
depend so much on IGR and we are being owed by organizations,” he said.
Also, at Radio Lagos/Eko F.M, the
team was received by the newly promoted Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Tinu
Aina-Badejo.
Badejo told the committee that
the station operates Radio Lagos, which is 98% Yoruba Language and Eko F.M. She
said that the station has been serving as the bridge between the government and
the people and that it now operates an internet station, pure water factory as
well as ICT School
in affiliation with Lagos Polytechnic and Yoruba Language
School to promote the
language and raise funds to keep the station going.
According to her, the station
receives N4 million as monthly subvention from the state government, but that
it spends N23 million monthly on salaries alone, and so it has to look inward
to raise money.
The PS was commended by Hon.
Olulade for her commitment to work, who added that the station will continue to
move forward, especially under the leadership of Mrs. Aina-Badejo, who he said
has done much to develop the industry.
Olulade promised that the
committee would give the station all the necessary support, but that the
station should be used to educate the people on the duties of lawmakers.
“You have shown high level of
understanding and determination to reach the people. I am working on a Motion
in the Assembly on Yoruba Language to prevent it from going into extinction as
it was predicted that the language would become extinct by 2050. We need the station
more than ever to achieve our objectives. You should have a programme on the
state house of assembly in the station,” Olulade stated.
Hon. Omisore said that as the
immediate past House Committee Chairman on Information, he was proud of Mrs.
Aina-Badejo, who he said supported him through the station during the election
period.
The lawmaker said that the
station has been crisis-free due to the good attitude of Mrs. Badejo. He
stressed that he was proud to be part of the success story of the station.
The lawmakers were later taken
round the studios, other facilities at the station, Radlag Language Institute
and Radlag Pure Water Factory.
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