FG charges NAN employees on productivity, plans salary increase

The Federal Government (FG) has urged employees of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to map out strategies that would impact positively on their jobs and enhance their productivity.

This is just as the Federal Government also plans to enhance remuneration of the workers, even as it demanded more justification for their salaries.

Executive Chairman, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Ekpo Nta, said this yesterday at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop on improved productivity and enhanced remuneration for nodal officers of NAN, organised by the commission in Lagos.

Represented by the Director, Productivity, Prices and Incomes of NSIWC, Babatunde Oresanya, who said the commission was on ground to carry out productivity audit, urged them to take into cognizance the people’s welfare, processes for efficiency and management setting to change the face of the organisation.

He said: “FG wants justification for salaries received. We have given you something; prove that you are worth that pay. Unless you increase productivity, the pay will not be given to you.”

Earlier, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NAN, Buki Ponle, listed challenges of inadequate infrastructure, poor salaries and inadequate allowances of employees when compared to the volume and nature of work undertaken by the workforce.

Represented by the Director, Finance and Accounts, Oladele Ojo, Ponle lamented that workers in the agency deserved more than the cursory attention, stating that many of in the Ministry of Information earn better pay package than NAN.

“It is no exaggeration that we work laboriously to achieve results, yet we receive so little. In spite of the inadequate salaries and running cost, workers in the agency have been diligently and faithfully executing the mandate set out for it in its Act.

“We are a Grade-A parastatal but we are not remunerated as such. We are hopeful of government yielding to our request. The workshop is to ensure that we are in tune with what we are doing; the work methodology and the processes. We are bringing the knowledge to the members of staff to ensure they meet up with the new mandate of the agency timely, exploring information technology,” he said.