Adamawa Assembly debates new media retirement age, allowances

The Adamawa House of Assembly has approved a new retirement age and special allowances for state-owned media workers.

The Voice Media Trust (VMT NEWS) reports that this followed adoption of the report of its ad-hoc committee on a Bill for a Law to increase the retirement years and other special allowances for the state-owned media workers on Monday in Yola.

The assembly took the decision after the presentation of the report at plenary by the committee Chairman and member representing Song Constituency, Mr Simon Isa.

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Isa acted through the Vice  Chairman of the committee and member representing Verre Constituency, Malam Abdullahi Yapak.

He told the house that the bill was sponsored to motivate media workers considering the hazard involved in the profession.

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The lawmaker informed his colleagues that due to poor working condition journalists, people had begun losing interest in the media profession.

Isa therefore pleaded with the members to support the third reading of the bill and passed it into law.

He explained that the importance of the media in society cannot be over-emphasised and that even the state assembly cannot function effectively without the media.

The ad hoc committee report also observed that lack of digitisation of state-owned media outfits in line with the June 2020 deadline was seriously affecting the performance of the profession.

On his part, the former speaker of the assembly, Kabiru Mijinyawa of Yola South, supported the report of the committee and urged his colleagues to accept the recommendations.

“The significance of media in promoting democracy and good governance cannot be over-emphasised,” Mijinyawa said.

The Speaker of the house, Malam Aminu Iya-Abbas, after the adoption of the report, directed the Chairman, Rules and Business, to schedule the bill for third reading at the next legislative date.

VMT NEWS also reports that the bill is seeking to increase the retirement years from 35 to 40 by service and from 60 years to 65 by age.

It also recommended special allowances for media workers.

The bill, if passed into law, will enhance the condition of media practitioners and services for effective performance in the state.