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NPAN, Newspapers bicker over Dasuki’s ‘money’

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The Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) seems to be presently grappling with a crisis of confidence and betrayal over what happened to money released to them by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) then headed by embattled Col. Sambo Dasuki, under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

President of NPAN, who is also Publisher of Thisday Newspapers, Chief Nduka Obaigbena, had responded to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which invited him to account for the N670 million traced to him as part of the $2.1 billion arms budget for which Dasuki, is standing trial.

Obaigbena had stated that of the amount, N550 million was to compensate him for the bombing of his offices in Abuja and Kaduna by Boko Haram insurgents, while N120 million was to compensate newspapers as out of court settlement for repeated confiscation of newspapers by military men.

However, some of the newspapers on the list of twelve mentioned by Obaigbena as having received N10 million naira each, denied having ever collected such sums.

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The management of the Nigerian Tribune, Peoples Daily, New Telegraph and Independent Newspapers in separate statements said they never collected any money from NPAN, neither were they ever informed of such.

But NPAN in a quick reaction yesterday, by its secretary, Mr Feyi Smith said “The cheques for the Nigerian Tribune and Peoples’ Daily remain in the Secretariat awaiting collection.

“In the case of New Telegraph, the Secretariat was confronted with a situation where 13 Newspapers made claims while compensation for 12 newspapers was made. Blueprint Newspapers which was inadvertently omitted from the list has since been paid.

“When New Telegraph now demanded payment that had been collected by Blueprint Newspapers, the secretariat then brought the matter to the attention of the of the President, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, who then called Governor Orji Kalu , the Publisher of both the Sun Newspapers (who had been paid) and the New Telegraph (which has not been paid), to urge him to be patient for the matter to be tabled at the next Executive Council meeting, where he would seek the approval of the EXCO to take the funds earmarked for the Secretariat to pay them.”

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