Gbenga Daniel's Compass newspaper goes off newsstand

The hard copy edition of the Nigerian Compass, owned by a former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, is to be off the newsstand permanently.
Nigerian Compass, which has been off the newsstand since late December 2012, is now to be published as an online newspaper.
The decision to finally phase out the hard copy, it was learnt, was conveyed to a few of the staff of the company in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, by the company’s ailing Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Sina Kawonise, and a Director of the company, Biodun Oduwole.
At the meeting with the Editors and line editors of the newspaper, they were told in clear terms that Daniel could no longer sustain putting money into the newspaper business.
It was learnt that Daniel had been giving the present management of the company a minimum of N20 million monthly for the running of the newspaper.
Despite this, the newspaper was on and off the newsstand most part of last year, resulting in the resignation of several key staff.
Those who are still with the company are being owed salaries and allowances of between six months and 13 months.
The company has equally not been remitting the taxes deducted from staff salaries to the governments that should benefit from it since inception.
So also has the company not paid the pension fund deducted from staff salaries and its own contribution to the retirement benefit of staff from inception.
The contribution of staff to the cooperative society, running into millions of naira, is also being withheld by the company.
It was learnt that Daniel is unhappy with the situation of things in the company, especially after putting in what he considered so much yet with the staff being owed several months salaries, statutory deductions remaining unpaid and the newspaper on and off the newsstand.
Daniel was said to have questioned the application of the fund he has made available to the management of the company, especially in the last two years.
Kawonise, who served as Daniel’s Commissioner for Information in the later part of his administration, is getting set to seek the office of governor in Ogun State in 2015.