- Warns Against Protests
By Patrick Mgbodo
The Delta State Government has warned that protests will not influence the appointment of a new General Manager for the Delta Printing and Publishing Corporation (DPPC), warning vested interests to tread carefully as the position is strictly by appointment.
Addressing the issue of the GM’s appointment, during a press briefing, yesterday, the State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, emphasized that the position of General Manager is strictly by appointment, adding that the government would not tolerate any attempt to influence the process through protests.
According to Hon Aniagwu, ‘’The General Manager is strictly a political position. The government can decide to appoint from within or from without because it is strictly a political position. But this is a decision that we will take, brief the Governor in deciding who should be saddled with that responsibility (GM).
‘’The issue of appointment of a General Manager is not what anybody is going to get via protests. So, those who are behind such demonstrations should be careful. We are not a government that will allow people to poke their fingers into our eyes. People should advise themselves and be properly guided.
‘’You are very free to aspire and even go ahead and lobby. But to say that you want to organise protests for a political appointment, not promotion, will not be condoned.
‘’If I had gone there and we identified those behind the protest, we would not only suspend that person but also take care of the situation because the person is trying to cause unrest. If you know them, go and talk to them’’ Hon Aniagwu said.
Recall that with just two weeks until the retirement of the Acting General Manager of DPPC, publishers of The Pointer, the National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers (NUPPPROW) threatened industrial action over the Board of Directors’ decision in choosing a successor.
However, The Pointer Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) swiftly rejected the move, distancing itself from the planned trade dispute and urging its members to refrain from being drawn into the standoff initiated by their sister union, NUPPPPROW.
The Board of Directors of DPPC had invited all staff on Salary Grade Level 15 to 17 to appear before its committee and be screened for the position, a move which sparked the agitations by The Pointer Chapel of NUPPPPPROW.
