Mr John Idumange, the General Manager, Radio Bayelsa “Glory FM”, on Friday confirmed that he flogged four union leaders of the station in self-defence.
Idumange said that the incident happened on Monday after the unions shut down the FM station operated by the state government.
The Radio Bayelsa Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Radio Television and Theatre Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU) had alleged that Idumange was running the station outside public service rules.
Idumange, who explained the details of the incident to NAN, alleged that the unions in the station were working against his reforms aimed at repositioning the broadcast outfit.
“At about 7.20 p.m on Monday, the day RATTAWU and NUJ embarked on strike, I heard voices near my window.
“So I went out to see what was happening. I saw four persons, one of them a lady.
“I could recognise Tonye Yemoleigha, one of the union leaders, who was on white shirt. I asked why they were there after chasing away all the workers,” he said.
According to him: “Tonye stood up and asked if the compound belonged to me. At that point I discovered he was ready for a fight but I did not bulge.
“He brought his hands near my eyes so I blocked it. I had learnt Karate years back. One of them threw a chair at me and they all rushed to fight me. I had to fight back in self-defence.
“They could have beaten me up but my Karate skills rescued me,” he said.
Idumange, who was appointed on Dec. 6, 2016, claimed that he recently uncovered a N5.7 million fraud and redeployed some staff.
“The transferred workers have been meeting with them at NUJ Centre, they benefitted from the corruption and are fighting back,” Idumange said.
Reacting, Mr Tonye Yemoleigha, the NUJ Chairman in Radio Bayelsa, said that the unions had reported the incident at Ekeki Police Division.
“Four of us, myself and three staff were flogged by Idumange himself. The report that it was thugs is inaccurate. It was the general manager himself that attacked and beat us up.
“We have reported the matter to the Ekeki Police Division and sought medical attention at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.
Recall that Mr Tonye Yemoleigha, NUJ Chairman in Radio Bayelsa on Thursday in Yenagoa said that he and three female staff were flogged by the General Manager of the Station, Mr John Idumange.
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“Four of us, myself and three female staff were flogged by Idumange himself. The report that it was thugs is inaccurate. It was the General Manager himself. The blisters on the skin are more severe for the ladies.
“We have reported the matter to the Ekeki Police Division and sought medical attention at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa. Workers have been constantly intimidated and threatened for no just cause.
Yemoleigha, NUJ Chairman said: “Mr John Angese, Bayelsa Council Chairman of NUJ who is a staff of Radio Bayelsa has also been threatened with a sack, we are all being victimised for insisting that the General Manager complies with Public Service rules.
“We have been under siege since the General Manager was appointed on December 6, 2016. We are not opposed to repositioning the station which is in our interest but we want the procedure to follow due process,” Yemoleigha said.
“Ordinarily, in line with established procedures, an Investigative Panel should have been instituted to look into the matter and come up with a report with which management would act as appropriate.
“All these are expressly spelt out in the Public Service Rules; however, we are requesting for a copy of the police report after their investigation.
“We have asked management to properly discipline everyone involved in an established case of running the salary of a staff who resigned with effect from August 2016,” Yemoleigha said
“This small radio station has 346 workers; employment and job placement have never followed due process, we are currently reorganising the place and they are resisting our efforts.
“Those ghost workers must be fished out and the payroll cleaned up.
“The wage bill of the station is N35 million monthly and it is not sustainable. My predecessor incurred a debt of N40 million.
“The unions are being instigated by the Heads of Department affected in the illegal recruitment, and those who came into that place through the back door.’’ he said.
Source: NAN
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