Gotel Communications Limited, the Yola-based Radio-cum-Television company belonging to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has explained that it is going through a restructuring process.
Explaining why it laid off some staff on May 1, General Manager of the company, Mohammed El-Yakub, said the action was part of their restructuring process which began in 2019.
Recall that the media had reported the sack of 46 members of staff of the media company with immediate effect on. Friday.
The statement signed by El-Yakub, titled, ‘Rationalisation of staff in Gotel, outcome of long standing company restructuring,’ stated that the former VP had no personal hand in the layoffs.
“The rationalisation of staff at Gotel Communications Limited, a company under the umbrella of Priam Group, is a culmination of the restructuring process in the companies under our Group.
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“The founder of companies under the Priam had announced that many of his business concerns will be aggregated under the Priam Group. Priam Group had embarked on a restructuring exercise which led to a merger of many companies under its umbrella.
“Other components of the restructuring includes rationalization of workforce and thus some members of staff of the group would be laid off, with their full disengagement benefits paid to them,” the statement said.
It further stated that the current decision to “right size” the workforce in Gotel Communication Limited was the climax of the on-going restructuring exercise which was initiated last year.
It said it was out of context “to ascribe any mundane presupposition for being responsible for the decision to lay off some of the workforce in Gotel Communication Limited.”
El-Yakub explained that with the unveiling of Priam Group last year, Atiku ceased to be involved in the running of the affairs of his companies.