Workers of the Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation (Radio Kwara), Ilorin, shut down the station on Wednesday, in protest of “lack of operational equipment and welfare package for staff”.

The state government’s move to cancel the AM Station was part of what triggered the protest.

A staff, who pleaded anonymity, said the government was planning to evacuate the staff from the GRA office to Budo Efo transmission area, a suburb of Ilorin, the Kwara capital.

“This Budo Efo always affects the reproductive organs of the staff working there, due to the effect of radiation of the old transmitter and the antenna,” he said.

“If you notice, some of the staff posted to Budo-efo are childless while few ones that had children have their children deformed.

“The last option given us is to transfer all the staff to Budo-Efo particularly to enable them sell the land harbouring Radio Kwara AM.

“As we speak, the land surrounding Radio Kwara 2, Midland FM has been sold. Since KWIRS has taken over our revenue, to buy diesel to power the station is a problem. That is why both AM and FM stations are running skeletal transmission always.

“The sole administrator, Dr. Muyideen Akorede has destroyed the station through his shoddy repositioning since 2016.”

Another worker claimed that virtually all departments in Radio Kwara, including the newsroom, lack working facilities and tools.

He said the state government had perfected plans to kill the AM station and concentrate on Midland FM 99.0 at Apata Yukuba, Ilorin.

“The same FM is dying. The next one is the overall welfare of staff, delay in payment of meagre salaries, among others,” he said.

“The state government officials including Dr. Akorede are now patronising private radio stations in the state, paying huge amounts to feature on their programmes living Radio Kwara to die.

“All the staff have been demoralised. We are staging this protest not because of us, but because of the future of Radio Kwara and the state at large.”

Akorede, who is the senior special assistant (SSA), media and communication to the governor and sole administrator for all state-owned media houses, said rainstorm destroyed a device which necessitated the movement from GRA office to Budo Efo.

He explained that it was in the spirit of keeping the station running that the staff were asked to move to Budo Efo temporarily.

Akorede explained that N5m had been released to the station for its running cost and that the only salary owed the staff was that of August, which will be paid before the end of the week.

The governor’s aide boasted that no TV station in the north-central can match the standard of the repositioned state-owned television station (KWTV)

•Sourced fromThe Nation report

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