L
LequteMan
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Sources at THISDAY newspaper have revealed to SaharaReporters that a furious Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Saturday had called THISDAY publisher, Nduka Obaigbena demanding the sack of the paper’s Saturday edition, Lawrence Ani.
It is reported that Ms. Okonjo-Iweala, who is extremely close to the flamboyant publisher complained about a report in the Saturday edition of the paper which said that the Nigerian economy wasn’t improving. The report was filed by James Emejo and it cited data that indicated a drop in Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
A source said Mr. Obaigbena apologized to the minister over the report and promised to sanction the editor for daring to publish a story that reflected poorly her management of the economy.
Mr. Obaigbena, it is said, has a history of using his media outreach to prop up the federal and state governments, raking in significant financial benefits for himself.
Mr. Obaigbena on Monday asked the Saturday editor to proceed on an indefinite suspension, appointing the paper’s Abuja capital editor, Tokunbo Adedoja, as the new Saturday editor.
Mr. Adedoja met with the staff of the newspaper in Abuja on Monday and solicited their support as he moves to Lagos, a source who attended the meeting said.
Recently, Mr. Obaigbena has faced extreme financial difficulties, making it impossible for him to pay his staff in Nigeria.
His international cable station “Arise TV” also had a major blackout some weeks ago due to financial hardships.