SAM NDA ISAIAH: When a slave master meets his match

By Timothy Mathew

Ex Leadership Staff drag Sam to court, Seek 500m as damages. The name Sam Nda Isaiah is one that is easily identifiable in the country, especially among media practitioners and lovers of quality news. The diminutive media owner, who hails from Niger State, is the publisher of Leadership Newspapers, undoubtedly one of the leading  newspaper in the Northern part of the country in the recent past.

Leadership Newspaper is  truly one of the  leaders  in the North, and on the authority and popularity of the daily sweat and hard work of the great journalists and other allied workers employed at the newspaper, Sam Nda Isaiah, contested for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress in late 2014. Though he came first from behind, his participation in the primary showed the clout and visibility his media establishment had given him over the years.

The great leverage the newspaper has given him notwithstanding, a sore point in the narrative remains the slave trading method the media establishment has been running and the slave master posture Nda Isaiah has maintained over the years.

Nda Isaiah is one man who loves luxury and living life to the fullest. Unfortunately, the luxury comes at the expense of his hard working staff who live in perpetual penury due to the failure of their employer to pay their salaries as at when due. Tales abound on those who lost their lives or the lives of their loved ones as a result of lack of funds to access medicals help. Our investigation reveal that the chairman in order to support his ostentatious life style is bleeding the company to the extent that payment of salary has become difficult and production and print run has become so abysmal low, just enough to ensure that the paper is available on the newsstand.

Sam Nda ISAIAH has no respect for other people’s right. This can be the reason why there are a lot of pending cases against him in court, please recall the recent enforcement of judgement by senator Isa Mohammed during a lot of valuables were carted away.

It would be recalled that while declaring his presidential ambition in Minna, the Niger State capital in 204, Nda Isaiah had spoken glowingly about his BIG IDEAS. The ideas were really big and gargantuan but in reality, those who know him, queried the big ideas.

For many, what big ideas could Nda Isaiah, who is alleged by staff of his media organization of being in the habit of tax evasion, have for nation building and the development of the country?

Investigation reveals that despite tax and pension  deductions made whenever salaries are paid, he does not remit same. A detailed investigation into the remittance of VAT as a result of advert accrued to the company might not reveal a desirable result.

It is equally on record that most staff of the newspaper either resign out of anger over several months and years of unpaid salaries or frustrated and intimidated out with no option than to sulk and lick their wounds in silence. A lot of the EX staff has pending cases at the industrial court.

A major weapon the Niger State born media owner has employed over the years has been the threat of carrying disclaimer on the affected staff members or actually destroying their careers by carrying out the threat and reducing them to suspected common criminals  all because they could no longer condone his slave trading any

longer.

The invincibility and ‘nothing can happen’ attitude Nda Isaiah has carried on with over the years may have changed finally as a former staff of the newspaper, Mr. Durojaiye Hassan, has decided to stand up to him and call his bluff.

Duro, as many of his colleagues call him while in the employ of Leadership Newspapers, was the former Director Advert and Special projects.  He however resigned his appointment in July this year, leaving behind salary arrears of about three years.

Duro had maintained a cordial working relationship with the newspaper after resigning in July, until he got what looked like a mouth watering advert deal with the Kogi State government.

When the advert money was paid into Durojaiye Hassan’s account, he took an agreed commission of N3 million and N2 million as lien of his 3 years unpaid salary. But Nda Isaiah will not have any of that, insisting that he returns the money.

Investigations also reveal that despite Duro offering an olive branch for reconciliation and agreeing at a point to return the money but insisting that the Nda Isaiah must make him an offer in writing to enable him go to court if he reneges because of his inconsistent practices in the past, the Chairman, as Nda Isaiah is fondly called,

ordered that his best line of intimidating action be taken against Duro.

A disclaimer was consistently carried against him since November 13 until the National Industrial Court, Abuja ordered it stopped early in the week.

The question, however, is why is Nda Isaiah afraid of making a written offer to Duro? Does he have anything to hide or is it because he has no intention or paying him what is due him?

Investigation shows that one of the best trademark of the Chairman is quarreling with his staff over advert commission, despite the fact that he does not pay salaries.

A case in point is that of a particular lady who got adverts from a government agency. Few months after, Nda Isaiah spoke with the head of the agency, who informed him that his agency has been patronizing Leadership. Pronto, the chairman called the Group Managing Director that the advert belongs to him and no other staff is entitled to get commission on the deal. the lady was terminate when she could not return the commission. Effort to reach the former GMD, Dr Cletus Always prove abortive.

If the Leadership publisher has been having his way up till now, that has changed, as Durojaiye Hassan has proven a tough nut to crack for him. Despite attempts at using the police to harass him, the former advert director has taken the bull by the horn by dragging him to court for libel and claiming N500 million as damages, while demanding

for the payment of his outstanding salary, taxes, pension and illegal deductions of salaries for payment of  adverts secured by him.

The court also granted his an ex-parte order, stopping the publication of disclaimer on him, rubbing an obvious injury of the master of disclaimers.

According to Duro, the disclaimers, just like every other ones Nda Isaiah has done in the past, were done with the malicious Intent to destroy his person after he refused to be cheated.

Whatever happens, Sam Nda Isaiah seems to have met his match in Durojaiye Hassan, as for the first time, a former staff is standing up to him and his ways!