The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has pledged to work with the management to restructure the agency and boost productivity.
The union declared that the partnership is aimed at enhancing career progression, value addition and job satisfaction.
The Chairman of the chapel, Mr Collins Yakubu-Hammer, made this known when he addressed members of the union on Friday in Abuja.
Yakubu-Hammer said the agency has now come of age to rightfully take its place as the biggest news agency in Africa and a grade ‘A’ parastatal agency of the Federal Government.
He said the union had met with the Managing Director, Mr Buki Ponle, and his management team to conclude plans to ensure that the agency is restructured to add value to its operations and address the issue of chronic stagnation.
“We have given the MD the relevant documents that would facilitate the speedy process of restructuring the agency to add value to the organisation and ensure that officers who have been stagnated for years now have the opportunity to advance in their career.
“We proposed the creation of Directorates of Foreign, Lagos, Abuja and Zonal Operations.
“Others include Magazine and Publications, Digital/New Media, Monitoring and Evaluation/OMBUDSMAN, Library and Documentation, as well as Media Training and Exchange Programmes.
“In addition, we also proposed the creation of Departments of Public Private Partnership (PPP), Photo Services, Editorial Servicom and Special Projects. We hope to achieve these before the end of the first quarter of 2023.
“When these departments are created and manned by Officers on GL17, miracles would happen in NAN, because with revenue generation proposals from all the departments, we will start making over N150 million naira monthly for NAN.
“This will go a long way to boost our welfare and motivate staff to maximise productivity and quality content sales that would rake in millions of Naira for the agency and Federal Government.
“We are all aware that the current situation in NAN does not encourage staff to maximise productivity, which we all know is due to financial challenges, but once this restructure is done, NAN will be like NNPC, FIRS, CAC, etc,” Yakubu-Hammer said.
The NAN Abuja NUJ chairman therefore called on all management staff of the agency to unite and put in efforts in such a way that posterity will sing their praises for eternity.
“If Mr Ponle could make this come true, his name will be written in gold and the legacy will make him reign in the hearts of members of staff for ever.
“Meanwhile, we also want to commend Mr Ponle and some progressive members of management for their initiative to reopen NAN foreign offices in South Africa, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia.
“We hope Ponle would keep to his promises to reopen those foreign offices in the first quarter of 2023 and deploy reporters to those bureaux to enrich our reportage and coverage.
“We also want to beg Ponle to please eject illegal occupants of NAN House in New York and to also ensure that the NAN property in New York is not converted to a personal property,” Yakubu-Hammer said.
The union leader also pleaded with the MD of NAN to provide welfare to members of staff for the yuletide seasons of Christmas and New Year, adding that he should also address the issue of the failed new staff bus and put it to use.
“Also, there was a theft of NAN property in Lagos Office. We call on Mr Ponle to immediately arrest the supervisor of the security company that stole NAN property worth hundreds of millions of Naira in NAN Lagos Office,” he said.