Newswatch?s initial owners reject magazine shutdown

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Say Jimoh Ibrahim did not consult them before taking the decision.

The four journalists who, with late Dele Giwa, teamed to form the news magazine, Newswatch, say they will act to forestall the publication?s ?destruction? after new owner, Jimoh Ibrahim, closed it down on Monday.

Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, Yakubu Mohammed and Soji Akinrinade said the decision was in breach of the terms that transferred the majority ownership of the company to Ibrahim.

In a statement on Thursday, they vowed to resist the closure, and said they were consulting with other shareholders on a further step.

?These decisions break the spirit and letter of the understanding and agreement we had with Mr Ibrahim concerning the future of our beloved Newswatch,? the statement said. ?We believe the decisions to be illegal and clearly counter-productive. We ask Mr Ibrahim to rescind them in the interest of the company, its staff, the advertising community and the reading public.?

Ibrahim took over the company in May 2011 and promised to re-position it after years of financial uncertainty that saw workers? salaries unpaid, and other functions curtailed.

He said his decision to suspend operations indefinitely was taken to “re-position the magazine and make it relevant to modern development, and as such, the magazine is due for corporate surgery.?

But the initial owners say that was never discussed at the company?s board meeting. “The decision came to us, as indeed to millions of Nigerians, as a big shock,” the statement said.

?We are astonished that after nearly 15 months, Mr Jimoh is now talking about ‘corporate surgery’. What exactly has been happening at Newswatch all this time then? What happened to the turn-around, which was to have been completed within one year by the new management?

We urged him to pay the outstanding salaries and allowances of the staff and inject the funds promised into the company. For now, we are consulting the other stakeholders on the next steps to take to ensure Newswatch is not destroyed and that it continues to be a strong and viable news magazine.?

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