Jimoh Ibrahim Breaks Record, Sack Senior Staff On Live TV, As Unpaid Workers Disrupt Lecture

The Chairman of Energy Group, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim in a record breaking move announced the sacking of the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director one of his companies, Newswatch Daily, Moses Jolayemi and Makinde Bankole during his Live telecast of his 5th Energy Group Group Managing Director Conference on AIT and NTA.

However, both Jolayemi and Makinde had resigned before the bizarre manner of the termination of their employments on a live television programme on Monday morning by Ibrahim.While Jolayemi, popularly known as Black Moses, had resigned from the company since last year, Bankole resigned last week.Bankole’s resignation, without any notice, was said to have angered Ibrahim, hence the resort to the purported termination of their appointments on live television.

Bankole, the Deputy Managing Director of the controversial publication, has been acting as the MD since the exit of Jolayemi as the MD/Editor-in-Chief before he also resigned last week.Ibrahim, at a training conference of his companies, aired live on the Nigeria Television Authority and African Independent Television, pointed at one of the trainees, asking him to go and take over the leadership of Newswatch Daily.He said anyone who knew Jolayemi and Bankole should tell them that they had been relieved of their duties.He said Newswatch was his only company that has been unable to meet its salary obligations.This is however far from the truth.

While Newswatch Daily is owing its workers 11 months salary, another of his publications, National Mirror, is also owing staff eight months salary.Staff of NICON Insurance are also being owed salaries.They stormed the venue of the conference on Monday to protest the non-payment of their salary.Ibrahim, however, said he would be willing to assist the new helmsman of Newswatch Daily for the first first months in the saddle, adding that after this, he has to contend solely with running the company.

Staff are quick to point to the undue interference of Ibrahim as one of the reasons why the media outfits are failing.Jolayemi and Bankole are not the first set of leaders of Ibrahim’s companies to resign over his managerial style. The first MD/Editor-in-Chief of the rejuvenated National Mirror, Abiodun Rauf, resigned in controversial circumstances also.

So also did Steve Ayorinde, who is now the Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, resign from National Mirror.

Popular politician, Kafilat Ogbara, equally resigned from National Mirror over the same issue