‘Daily Independent is not up for sale’

The Daily Independent’s promoter and former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, has been facing legal battles bordering on money laundering, for which he has been held in a London prison. As a result of the bad weather at the newspapers, the payment of salaries has not been regular. In a telephone interview with […]

The Daily Independent’s promoter and former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, has been facing legal battles bordering on money laundering, for which he has been held in a London prison. As a result of the bad weather at the newspapers, the payment of salaries has not been regular.

In a telephone interview with our reporter, Mr Akpandem described  as false, a report in an online publication which said the newspaper proprietors are looking for a buyer because they can no longer continue to run it.

The Managing Editor said, “There is no iota of truth in that publication, and this disturbs me greatly because we’ll soon begin to doubt the credibility of these online publications. They claimed I went to London to meet the publisher over the proposed sale of Daily Independent. The only truth there is that I actually travelled to London to meet the publisher, but it was not to discuss the sale of the newspaper.”

Akpandem told Sunday Trust that the newspaper is rather being repositioned, as Chief Ibori considers it as one of his most important legacies. “I want to inform you that my principal considers this newspaper as one of the major legacies he has, and from my discussions with him, he would not allow it to collapse; he will not sell it out to anybody. You can confirm this from our employees: we have paid salaries up-to-date. We have paid salaries for the months of August and September. We are also on the streets of Nigeria. We have not failed to appear at newsstands on any day in the last two years. Rather than fold up or sell off, the Daily Independent is coming out stronger than it has been.”

In the last few weeks, newspapers which were considered promising, have been closing shop. Last week Sunday Trust reported that the 234 NEXT newspapers, which had earlier halted the publication of its daily editions, has also suspended the publication of its weekly edition, the 234NEXT on Sunday.