The management of National Pilot Newspaper has dismissed claims that its workers are owed four-and-a-half years’ salaries, describing the allegation as false, misleading and politically motivated.
In a statement issued by the management, the newspaper clarified that the salary arrears in question amounted to 29 accumulated months, principally covering the period between 2017 and 2021, when the company experienced severe financial difficulties.
The management also rejected claims linking the arrears personally to former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, stressing that the outstanding obligations were those of National Pilot Newspaper as a company.
According to the statement, Saraki did not personally employ the affected workers or owe them salaries, but intervened after the management appealed to him for assistance in settling the outstanding obligations.
The management said the company, during the period of financial difficulties, sometimes paid half salaries, full salaries or was unable to pay, depending on available resources.
It added that National Pilot had returned to regular and prompt payment of salaries for more than five years, stressing that the historical 29-month arrears were separate from the company’s current salary obligations.
The statement said 40 staff members were initially affected by the arrears settlement, which was structured into two batches.
It disclosed that about N18 million provided by Saraki had already been used to settle the entitlements of 30 affected workers, including former employees who had left the organisation.
The remaining 10 staff members, including the Managing Director, constitute the second batch, for which payment is currently being processed, the management said.
It added that all affected workers had been informed of the payment arrangement and developments regarding their outstanding entitlements.
The management further accused five individuals — Christy Doyin, Amusa Tajudeen, Hussein Gold, Kazeem Badmus and Ahmed Ibrahim — of spearheading what it described as a politically motivated campaign against the newspaper and Saraki.
It alleged that the campaign was designed to portray Saraki as personally responsible for the company’s salary obligations and to damage the reputation of National Pilot.
According to the management, the campaign was coming amid political realignments in Kwara State and the growing popularity of the party headed by Saraki.
It described the attempt to revive a corporate financial challenge dating back to 2017 and portray it as a current salary crisis as part of an orchestrated effort to “demarket” the newspaper.
The management also made allegations against some of the individuals involved in the campaign.
It claimed that Ahmed Ibrahim had, without approval, sold a company distribution vehicle and unsold newspaper copies valued at more than N400,000, adding that the matter was reported to the police.
The statement also said the company had previously paid the medical expenses of Christy Doyin for years when it was financially buoyant, arguing that this demonstrated its commitment to staff welfare.
The management questioned why, out of the 10 staff members remaining in the second batch, only five had publicly complained about non-payment despite allegedly being aware that their entitlements were being processed.
National Pilot urged readers, stakeholders and business partners to disregard what it described as the “false narrative” that the company currently owes workers four-and-a-half years’ salaries.
It reiterated that the arrears amounted to 29 accumulated months, while current salaries were being paid regularly and the historical obligations were being settled in batches.
The management said it remained committed to completing the settlement of all legitimate outstanding obligations while protecting the reputation and integrity of the newspaper
