The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Lagos network center has recently lost two workers, while one is currently abandoned with partial stroke and others continue to work with uncertainty as the Station suffers neglect and the workers, abandonment.
Objectv Media can report that the NTA Lagos located on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos is in decrepit state and begs urgently for attention and upgrade, as staff welfare is also serious concern.
The station, despite making revenues, is ignored to isolated fate with the workers struggling to live up, working in rodent infested premises, unmaintained studio and with near-obsolete equipments.
Two workers with the station reportedly died of recent, owing to unnatural causes relating to poor and hazardous physical studio environment.
Objectv Media gathered that in a space of 5 days, a member of Staff and another worker on casual or contract basis died from dangerous and stressful physical work situations, aided by a non-functional clinical facility.
A Manager of News and Current Affairs, Tunde Saiki reportedly died in the office on 30th October, 2020. He was said to have slept in office on Thursday because there was no vehicle to take him home and return him next day to catch up with an early morning assignment due for Friday. But sadly, he was to be found lifeless in the office afterwards.
Days earlier, Taye Seriki, a casual worker with the station had severe injury on his toes from an avoidable physical accident in the studio. The victim reportedly was going about his job when a concrete block which was improvised to hold a studio backdrop in place, fell on his leg and ripped one of his toes. He was amputated but died later on 26th October, 2020.
Asides those dead, a news journalist with the NTA Lagos Station, Rotimi Oluwagbemi is also down with partial stroke, which he suffered during active service.
Despite making revenues, the entire Lagos network station reportedly has only one operational bus for its News and Programs department.
The Staff clinic is non-functional and has been under locks since April. No safety or welfare policies for workers and no insurance policy arrangements. Reporters on crime beat are said to lack official bullet proof vests or helmets, while those on assignments in coastal communities are not provided official life jackets.
Objectv Media also gathered that the NTA network remuneration for workers is very low, consequent upon which reporters have to rely on ‘brown envelops’ during assignments.
In its Production Services, only about 5% of NTA workers are said to be staffed, while about 95% others are workers on casual basis with plan to confirm their employment to become staff members.
Most of the workers believe their plight is caused by the Federal Government’s serial appointment of Ministers of Information who know next to nothing about how the station can be repositioned.
The current Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, for instance, allegedly has never visited the NTA Lagos center since his appointment in 2016, at least to inspect the status and needs of the national broadcast TV station, despite that the center generates revenues they use to cater the Abuja station.
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