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VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment - Career (2) - Nairaland

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Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by buchai: 8:03am On Oct 06, 2018
them aboki think VOA is NTA







where everything goes in their favour.
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by Mujtahida: 8:16am On Oct 06, 2018
baliyubla:
Sack them all. If you want to see Corruption in human form, then visit an MDA headed by those guys up north. They think its Nigeria where their King of the North continuously shields them from corrupts acts and embezzlement.
In one on one personal and business dealings, people from the North are quite honest but in government they are the kings of graft.
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by slivertongue: 8:19am On Oct 06, 2018
APC tink VOA is NTA &Radio nigeria wia dey influence news items.d love 4tips by nigerians is badly affectin development
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by BruncleZuma: 8:23am On Oct 06, 2018
poseidon12:


I doubt it. The British are not as ethical as the Americans.

Remember the Yaradua interview scandal?
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by Nobody: 8:23am On Oct 06, 2018
Bribery and Corruption is instituted by these people. At least, las las, every tribe has a crime they are known for sad
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by HomeOfMe(f): 9:19am On Oct 06, 2018
Handjob:
A Voice of America sign is seen at the entrance to VOA's headquarters in Washington, D.C.


WASHINGTON —
The Voice of America announced Thursday it has fired or proposed to terminate more than half the members of its Hausa language service following an investigation that found the individuals had accepted improper payments from a foreign official in West Africa.

Amanda Bennett, director of the federally funded news organization, notified VOA staff of the move in an agency-wide email. "It is therefore with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that we have terminated or (in accordance with all applicable Federal laws and regulations) proposed to terminate 15 members of the Hausa Service," she wrote.

Bennett said the action was taken after simultaneous investigations by VOA staff and the Office of the Inspector General into "allegations of improper conduct by members of the service, which involved accepting improper payments from an official in the coverage area."

The service reaches some 20 million people weekly, principally in Nigeria but also in Niger, Ghana, Chad and Cameroon.

Remaining members of the Hausa staff said the 15 individuals, including the service chief (who is not suspected on personally accepting a payment) , were met at the front door of VOA headquarters on Thursday morning. They were stripped of their building passes and handed letters notifying them of the action.

Individuals within VOA's Africa Division said the investigation produced no evidence that any programming was affected by the alleged payments. However Bennett said in her email that "a separate investigation has been launched to determine if any coverage by VOA was improperly influenced. If any such influence is discovered, we will deal with it promptly and transparently."

A senior VOA official said all the alleged payments uncovered by the months-long investigation were made in or near the main VOA offices in Washington, and on a single occasion earlier this year.

The official would not comment on the amounts that were paid. However it is not uncommon in Nigeria for senior officials to distribute "brown envelopes" stuffed with cash during press briefings, a practice that has been documented by the British Broadcasting Corp. and others.

Africa Division director Negussie Mengesha said VOA staffers "clearly understand that that is not allowed."

An official at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the firings and suspensions, saying it is an internal matter for VOA.

The action leaves the service with only 11 permanent government employees and contractors to produce 16 hours of radio and 30 minutes of television every week. Mengesha said the agency intends to maintain its current programming schedule with the help of an extensive network of part-time contributors in Africa. A former Hausa Service chief, Fred Cooper, will return to run the service until a permanent chief is selected.

Mengesha also said he will be moving quickly to replace the terminated employees and that the new hires will receive rigorous training in journalism ethics. Some of the employees cannot be replaced under federal regulations until a lengthy termination process is completed.

Bennett said in her email that she was acting to protect the integrity and reputation of VOA, a federal agency which delivers news content on radio, television, internet and social media in more than 40 languages to more than 230 million people weekly. "If any other instances of improper payments are discovered in any service anywhere in VOA, we are committed to investigating them thoroughly and dealing with them promptly as well," she wrote.

Asked in an interview how she will ensure that nothing similar happens again, she said, "Every person in this building knows the federal laws and the standards of ethical journalism. People will see [from Tuesday's firings] that we take these things very very seriously. Everyone will see what we expect of them."

In her email to the staff, Bennett commended "the leadership of the Africa Division who immediately and wholeheartedly backed the investigations and cooperated fully with these painful decisions. They, like all of us, are committed to the highest standards of ethical behavior and will not tolerate any infractions."


https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-hausa-employees/4599712.html
I hope their brothers up north won't declare jihad against VOA.
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by DaRuud(m): 9:22am On Oct 06, 2018
I can see the bext future Managing Director of
NTA ...
Kaduna
Kano
Katsina
Daura
Bichi
Abuja
Sokoto
Maiduguri
Yobe
Kebbi
Jigawa
Zamfara
Imo and
Kwara

Handjob:
A Voice of America sign is seen at the entrance to VOA's headquarters in Washington, D.C.


WASHINGTON —
The Voice of America announced Thursday it has fired or proposed to terminate more than half the members of its Hausa language service following an investigation that found the individuals had accepted improper payments from a foreign official in West Africa.

Amanda Bennett, director of the federally funded news organization, notified VOA staff of the move in an agency-wide email. "It is therefore with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that we have terminated or (in accordance with all applicable Federal laws and regulations) proposed to terminate 15 members of the Hausa Service," she wrote.

Bennett said the action was taken after simultaneous investigations by VOA staff and the Office of the Inspector General into "allegations of improper conduct by members of the service, which involved accepting improper payments from an official in the coverage area."

The service reaches some 20 million people weekly, principally in Nigeria but also in Niger, Ghana, Chad and Cameroon.

Remaining members of the Hausa staff said the 15 individuals, including the service chief (who is not suspected on personally accepting a payment) , were met at the front door of VOA headquarters on Thursday morning. They were stripped of their building passes and handed letters notifying them of the action.

Individuals within VOA's Africa Division said the investigation produced no evidence that any programming was affected by the alleged payments. However Bennett said in her email that "a separate investigation has been launched to determine if any coverage by VOA was improperly influenced. If any such influence is discovered, we will deal with it promptly and transparently."

A senior VOA official said all the alleged payments uncovered by the months-long investigation were made in or near the main VOA offices in Washington, and on a single occasion earlier this year.

The official would not comment on the amounts that were paid. However it is not uncommon in Nigeria for senior officials to distribute "brown envelopes" stuffed with cash during press briefings, a practice that has been documented by the British Broadcasting Corp. and others.

Africa Division director Negussie Mengesha said VOA staffers "clearly understand that that is not allowed."

An official at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the firings and suspensions, saying it is an internal matter for VOA.

The action leaves the service with only 11 permanent government employees and contractors to produce 16 hours of radio and 30 minutes of television every week. Mengesha said the agency intends to maintain its current programming schedule with the help of an extensive network of part-time contributors in Africa. A former Hausa Service chief, Fred Cooper, will return to run the service until a permanent chief is selected.

Mengesha also said he will be moving quickly to replace the terminated employees and that the new hires will receive rigorous training in journalism ethics. Some of the employees cannot be replaced under federal regulations until a lengthy termination process is completed.

Bennett said in her email that she was acting to protect the integrity and reputation of VOA, a federal agency which delivers news content on radio, television, internet and social media in more than 40 languages to more than 230 million people weekly. "If any other instances of improper payments are discovered in any service anywhere in VOA, we are committed to investigating them thoroughly and dealing with them promptly as well," she wrote.

Asked in an interview how she will ensure that nothing similar happens again, she said, "Every person in this building knows the federal laws and the standards of ethical journalism. People will see [from Tuesday's firings] that we take these things very very seriously. Everyone will see what we expect of them."

In her email to the staff, Bennett commended "the leadership of the Africa Division who immediately and wholeheartedly backed the investigations and cooperated fully with these painful decisions. They, like all of us, are committed to the highest standards of ethical behavior and will not tolerate any infractions."


https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-hausa-employees/4599712.html
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by husbandsnatcha(f): 9:45am On Oct 06, 2018
sack all of dem
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by TruthisOut: 10:22am On Oct 06, 2018
I thought Hausas do not like money. They have spoilt this country locally and internationally.

Meanwhile, I think I see why the president said Nigerian youths are lazy. The Nigerian youths want the old men to step aside and "handover" political offices to them. It is like asking someone to leave his food and hand it over.

Lazy Nigerian youths!!!!
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by mu2sa2: 11:13am On Oct 06, 2018
baliyubla:
Sack them all. If you want to see Corruption in human form, then visit an MDA headed by those guys up north. They think its Nigeria where their King of the North continuously shields them from corrupts acts and embezzlement.
As if there isn't corruption in MDAs headed by non- northerners!
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by xcuggsm(m): 11:32am On Oct 06, 2018
BruncleZuma:
grin grin grin grin

BBC Hausa is next.
Don't expect much from the Brits. After all, they are the people that invented the brown envelope gratification for pressmen. angry

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Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by 2dillu2(m): 1:05pm On Oct 06, 2018
QuickStandard:
Looters from time immemorial.

The North is corruption personified



If only the North wasn't part of this country, things would have been better.
sharrap useless Nyamuri drug Pusher

Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by mansamusa08(m): 2:15pm On Oct 06, 2018
JudasNaCarrot:
Mr Integrity Mumummadu Buhari.....come and see your people o.

Even the Bible said it "Fear North"

But you love North America.
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by Nobody: 2:20pm On Oct 06, 2018
They accepted money to promote politicians and their agenda thinking its is like the usual broadcasting corporations in Nigeria.
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by tolguy(m): 2:52pm On Oct 06, 2018
QuickStandard:
Looters from time immemorial.

The North is corruption personified



If only the North wasn't part of this country, things would have been better.
like james ibori,alamiegsiya etc?
Re: VOA Fires Or Proposes Removal Of 15 Hausa Service Members Over Improper Payment by shakmati(m): 2:56pm On Oct 06, 2018
Mujtahida:

In one on one personal and business dealings, people from the North are quite honest but in government they are the kings of graft.

That was before. Nowadays in personal business, people from the North are as unreliable as their peers all over the country. They are even worse sometimes because they add nepotism and tribalism to their deceit if you don't speak their language!

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