FRESH GIST


Yet to be launched news television branded as News Central TV with it's office located at The Post Square building Victoria island, Lagos has folded up business after being in operation for more than a year and running on YouTube for months.

A reliable source who asked to be anonymous stated that the company owed salaries for two months and couldn't fund it's salaries payment.

The CEO of the company Tony Dara has absconded and left staff without paying them for the two months they have worked.

It's is no news that Mr Tony Dara was the CEO of NN24 a television station that crumbled after going bankrupt in 2015.

We are rightly informed that the collapse of News Central TV was caused by misappropriation of funds and lavish lifestyle by the company's authorities.

We shall bring you updates as things progress.

I dey hungry ooo!

Pls is there any update on this company and this post

Dear News Central Brother and Sisters,



Compliments of the season. I trust that you and your families are all well. As many of you know, there are still many former staff who have never been paid by News Central. In my case, the debt extends to early 2019, as does that of the South Africa-based producer. Despite several pleas and multiple promises from them, News Central has decided not to pay. Its owners and management are happy to move on, act like they owe nothing and like they haven’t destroyed people’s lives. I stayed for as long as I could in the hopes that being in the system would ensure that the outstanding debt to me got paid- the money never came. All I got was promises, lies and the bitter taste of frustration that has not subsided to this day.



I declined a third contract when it was offered because it seemed illogical to be owed substantial amounts from two previous contracts yet no one seemed interested in resolving the issue, no matter how many emails I wrote, no matter how many meetings and message exchanges that took place. It made no sense to me to continue working for a company that prides itself on enslaving people. To put it plainly, anyone that engages staff and does not pay them is in the business of slavery, especially when they are counting on the silent but unwilling cooperation of said staff and their fear of leaving without their just dues. They are counting on you staying and ‘managing’ the situation to perpetuate a cycle of abuse. I hope you know that this behaviour is extremely abusive. You are being abused.



Despite what you may have heard, I have not been unreasonable. I have done everything I possibly could to try and resolve the matter of outstanding payments. In return, I have been constantly ignored, gaslighted and made to feel like I am a bad person for demanding what is owed to me. Why should anyone have to beg for their money for two years? I simply refuse to be civil to my abusers until they do the right thing. I will not be bound by a ‘culture of respect’ that is basically one party bullying the other into meek silence, where those in power expect deference but have none to give to those they perceive as subordinates. Where I come from, respect begets respect, regardless of nationality, tribe, age, position, title or socio-economic standing.



I have tried civility, begging, crying, private negotiation, patience, prayer – none of that has worked because I am dealing with a lot who do not care whether their staff live or die. Things were so bad with my debt that I flew to Lagos at my own expense late last year to try and resolve this issue. In that meeting, I was pressured to reduce the amount owed to me by almost half on the promise that it would be paid – not a single coin of it has not been paid to this day. I was simply being bamboozled and lied to. I was even willing to accept as little as $500 a month (interest-free) for several years as a payment plan – even this they promised but have never followed through. Had I known then that there was no good-will whatsoever to resolve and pay the very large sum of money that I am still owed, I would not have gone to the lengths I did.



Several months ago, Tonye said to me in a debt-resolution meeting between herself, Omolara and I that in Nigeria, it is not a crime to fail to pay salaries (recording excerpt of the same is attached). The gall and sheer callousness of the company’s top representative to say this, in the middle of a pandemic, to someone that had been owed for over a year, should tell you all you need to know about the values of News Central when it comes to money and payments. They will fail to pay your just dues and then simply tell you that it is not a crime to withhold your salary. In the same meeting that took place on 16th July 2020, more promises were made about a payment plan and actual payments. One half-month payment was made in August and after that, nothing ever came. Good luck to you all in getting your tax and other statutory deductions such as pensions remitted– I am yet to see a single withholding tax certificate as proof of remittance from News Central, despite asking several times. When I asked for the what must have been the sixth or seventh time, I was told by Tonye that in Nigeria, it is a ‘complex thing’ and it takes time (lol). I have now been asking for these certificates for a full year. Just how much time does it take? Poor FIRS, their reputation was butchered in the interest of expediency and to ‘manage’ the noisy Kenyan foreigner who kept asking for withholding tax certificates that do not exist. Those of you in touch with former staff can ask about whether their deductions were ever paid to the relevant authorities. Health insurance was a contractual obligation that they were supposed to provide for me and my son – they never did so. I know you have been promised the same but please prepare alternatives in the event that it is suddenly cut off and you are left without cover or a means to seek treatment, you do not want to be in that position. A word is enough for the wise. If you blindly believe that News Central will respect and honour its contractual obligations like I did, just know that there is a mountain of tangible evidence to suggest that it may not.



In September, I developed very serious health problems; so serious that I was at risk of multiple organ failure. This is no exaggeration. I sent Tonye proof of my illness (pictures of medical tests) and despite promises to send me some of my back pay, she failed to do so or say anything to me about it after that (Whatsapp transcript excerpt attached). I was at death’s door and even then, Tonye and her bosses would not do the humane thing and send me even a partial payment so that I could seek treatment. I was hospitalized for a week and were it not for the support of friends and family here in Nairobi to help me clear a huge hospital bill, I might not be here today. You may all recall that you received your salaries in the third week that month and subsequent months after that. This should tell you that the money to pay those that are owed is no object, it is simply a choice to act with impunity. If it has happened to me and many others, one day it could happen to you too. The day you decline to keep working until you are paid your accumulated outstanding, they will simply find someone else to replace you and not spare you a single thought after that. Interestingly, they will fail to pay you but they will somehow find the money to pay your replacements and move on like nothing happened. Know this so that you can make decisions that will not leave you trapped in a vicious cycle. I put it to you, do you still think I am the bad, unreasonable person here? How much latitude am I expected to give when the offending party is not willing to be fair or budge even a little bit?



Earlier in the year, Tonye accused me multiple times and in front of others, of going to social media about NC issues. This was untrue at the time she made those unfounded accusations but even if I had, perhaps she should tell those who answer to her why she would want people to be mistreated and abused in silence. Why not conduct honest introspection and just be a better employer instead? If News Central has nothing to be ashamed of, why get upset about being publicly outed? For many months, I tried so very hard despite very difficult circumstances to be understanding, private and civil: my extension of grace earned me nothing. I would write emails and messages and make calls from Nairobi that were often ignored. It is therefore ironic that those who continue to withhold my pay should be the ones complaining about my tone and my methods. How do you expect people who cannot feed their families to be nice to you when you have wilfully denied them their salary? How can your own hurt feelings be the primary concern as the aggressor? We are trying to get by in the most devastating pandemic the world has seen in decades. Everyone has lost someone they know at this point. Times are very hard. If this is not reason enough, what will it take for News Central to pay us? When you break a person’s spirit and strip them of their dignity, you do not get to decide how they respond. NC can simply resolve everything by paying what they owe and make everybody dey their dey.



Many of you are also owed, many of you continue to hope that in staying, your dues will eventually be paid in full. Many of you have said nothing, some of you have understandably sought the cloak of anonymity for fear of reprisal. All of your feelings and decisions are valid. I understand your apprehension; I understand the fear of being left jobless in a difficult economic season; I understand the fear of being blacklisted and shamed for speaking up against oppression. Our individual contexts, situations and methods are different but I just want you to know that our collective silence is being used against us all. I have made the conscious decision to no longer be quiet – not until I am paid in full. I will yodel from every rooftop for as long as it takes until News Central does the right thing. Anyone who wishes to blacklist me for fighting for justice is free to do so for such is not a company I will ever be interested in working for anyway, let the chips fall where they may. I will not shield abusers or cover their shame. I am willing to stand in the gap for those who want justice but are too afraid to ask. Even if I may not know who you are, I know I am not alone in the pain that I feel: I know that this email will travel widely this very night at the hand of some of those who receive it. If News Central wants to keep withholding pay, it should be ready to deal with the reputational fallout that comes with it.



Nothing I have said herein is untrue. I can back up everything I have ever said with concrete proof and unlike some, I am not in the habit of lying. News Central completely ignored a fire in its foundation while continuing to build more floors, as if the flames of discontent wouldn’t spread and torch the vision they are trying to build – a truly unfortunate strategy.



I wish you all a happy new (COVID-free) year, Inshallah. May everybody who owes you pay you the money that you justly earned.



Best,

Elayne.