Vice-Chairman of Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Shehu Sani, has kicked against the proposed sale of New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) properties, demanding payment of pensioners of the distressed media house.

Sani took the position after a tour of the moribund New Nigeria properties on Saturday in Kaduna.

Sani’s father was a staff of the organisation, rising to the position of Production Editor before his retirement.

He said: “You cannot sell NNN properties without reviving the company, except you have another ill intention.

“I believed to revive NNN you don’t need to sell out all these properties. You should rather improve on the properties, and perhaps create another NNN properties limited whereby, it will be run as an independent entity to sustain and support the company.”

NNN landed properties in Abuja, Lagos and Kaduna include staff quarters, offices, Imam House and the nine story office building along Ahmadu Bello way and the headquarters of the paper in Kaduna, among others.

Speaking earlier at the forum of NNN Friend Club at Hamdala Hotel Kaduna, the Senator opined that, to bring NNN back to the forefront of journalism, there is need to clear all the outstanding pension and arrears of the pensioners.

He said the 19 Northern Governors must come back and put more money to revive the company. “I am going to see Governor Kashim Shatima to present issue of NNN,” he promised.

“It is painful today that NNN has turned to a shadow of itself. It was a place that in the past contributed to the generation of journalists in Nigeria, but sadly it has become a ghost of itself which is not supposed to be so.”

Senator Sani then announced a donation of N2 million to the Club. Earlier in her speech, the Chairperson of the club, Mrs. Lydia Audu Zuru paid tributes to the staff of the NNN from inception to date who ensured that the legacies of Sir Ahmadu Bello is not allowed to crumble completely.

She extolled the effort of Senator Shehu Sani in ensuring the club is kept afloat and children of the staff keep in touch to maintain and sustain their relationship even after parting and leaving in different parts of the nation and beyond.

The meeting saw comments and contributions from members of the club and a tour of the company which saw some members nostalgic.

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