by Rachel Ogbu

The ThisDay Newspaper Headquarters in Lagos was shut down following the non-payment of staff salary.

The National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Product Workers on Thursday claimed workers had been owed for four months despite the publisher, Nduka Obaigbena, in April promising to pay within 30 days.

[READ: Employers could get up to one-year imprisonment for owing salaries according to new bill]

Obaigbena had explained then that salary payment was hampered by the Boko Haram attack on his Jabi, Abuja office but the Secretary, Nigeria Union of Journalist Abuja, Emmanuel Ogbeche said  even before the printing, publishing and paper product workers shut down the media house, the NUJ had planned of doing so itself.

“NUJ will still go ahead next week to enforce working conditions. The shut down does not distract what NUJ has decided to do,” Ogbeche said

“ThisDay is not the only Newspaper that NUJ is set to go after following default of staff wages, any other newspaper or media organization that defaults will be implicated also. We know that

“Peoples’ Daily is in arrears of workers’ wages, we intend to go there as well. Blueprint is in default of two months, we will also go there,” he said.

Defending his company, Obaigbena reportedly said:

“They are not being owed for four months but just a couple of months and we said we are settling everybody and we are in the process of doing that,” Obaigbena said. “There is a total reorganization of the operations of the company which includes payments; so that is in process right now.

He insisted all is well: “The company is not shutdown, Apapa is just one of our offices and there is just an industrial action; a legitimate cry of workers to embark on an industrial action”.

According to reports, Obaigbena said that he respects the rights of workers.  Ogbeche warned other publishers owing staff salary to pay or face the consequences.