Members of staff of the Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation (Radio Kwara) have protested alleged plans by the government to sell off the over 40-year old AM platform.

The workers also lamented their poor working condition and lack of necessary equipment.

They were joined by workers of the Kwara State Television Authority and Kwara State Printing and Publishing Corporation, publisher of the Herald Newspapers.

The staff carried different placards with the inscriptions like “We reject Sole Administrator”; “A.M station must exist”; “Government must not sell Radio Kwara”; “We need modern equipment at Radio Kwara”; etc.

The government, in its determination to reposition the three media houses, appointed a sole administrator in 2015 for three months and extended with another period of three months.

It also injected millions of naira to reposition the stations but the workers believed there is nothing to show for it.

It was gathered that Radio Kwara, which houses both the A.M and F.M stations, has been shut down for months, operating skeletal services due to lack of diesel to power the generating sets, while the government owes the station about three months running cost with last year’s outstanding running cost of about four months.

The workers called on the government to terminate the appointment of sole administrator. They added that workers are at risk with the bushy environment which has been overtaken by reptiles.

One of the workers said: “The government is planning to evacuate workers from the Broadcasting House to Budo Efo transmitting studio which is bad for the health of workers because of the radiation from the old transmitter and the antenna.

“The last option given to us is to transfer all the workers to Budo Efo, particularly to enable them sell the Radio Kwara AM Land.

“As we speak, the land surrounding Radio Kwara TWO Midland FM has been sold. Since KWIRS, the revenue body 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.”

Another worker, Ibrahim, said: “Government officials are now patronising private radio stations, paying big money to feature on their programmes, and leaving Radio Kwara to die; workers have been demoralised and discouraged.

“We are staging this protest not because of us but because of the future of Radio Kwara and Kwara State.”

A union leader said the media houses had written to the Ministry of Information and Communication, met with the Secretary to the State Government, Nigeria Labour Congress leadership in the state and other stakeholders on the need to address the deplorable conditions of the houses, but since the meeting held earlier in the year, nothing reasonable has been done.