Imo State Owned Media, IBC, Goes Off Air Over Unpaid Workers Salaries

Few days after the death of the Director General of the Imo State government owned Imo Broadcasting Corporation,, IBC, Owerri, the tv and Radio station has gone off air.

Gates of the corporation were under lock and key late last week which a staff of the corporation said marks the beginning of an indefinite strike action by staffers of the corporation. Workers are said to be owed four month salaries in addition to 36 months pension owed pensioners of the media outfit.

 The staff who spoke on condition of anonymity said since the interim management committee led by Vitalis Ajumbe, now Commissioner of Internal Resources and Pension Matters, left the corporation, workers have not had it easy as salaries seldom come.

INNONEWS.COM was informed that since the committee left, the subvention it gets from the Stat government has ceased to come and most times, announcements and commercial jingles by the State government aired on the station are not paid for.

One of the workers who spoke on condition of anonymity said “We are owed a lot of money by the State government. If the government pays for the adverts they run on the station and join  the funds we are able to generate from other sources, we will be able to pay our salaries without the subvention from the State government coffers.

“ During the political period, all the jingles we did for the State government were never paid for” he said

The workers strike is coming barely a week the DG, Esther Egbunna died. The state government has appointed Ezekiel Opara as her replacement in acting capacity.