Daily Times of Nigeria - Public Ownership

Public Ownership

The Federal Government of Nigeria acquired 60% of the Daily Times and its main rival, the New Nigerian Newspaper, on 1 September 1975. A government statement read: "The Federal Military Government wants to state that its acquisition of the total ownership of New Nigeria and equity (60%) of DTN will in no manner contrail the independence of the newspapers published by the 2 establishments. Government wants to underline its policy of full support of press freedom at all times". This statement was questionable since the takeover was clearly designed to reduce criticism of the military government. In March 1976, Jose was forced out of his position. In 1977 the government assumed total ownership and control.

At first the paper did retain a degree of editorial independence. In 1979 the Evening News, owned by the Daily Times, published an article saying that Chief Rotimi Williams was being sued by the children of a deceased client. Rotimi successfully sued the government-owned newspaper for libel. In the 1980s and into the 1990s the paper ran frequent editorials denouncing corruption and deploring the decline in morals. In 1981 the editor, Tony Momoh, was summoned to appear bofore the Senate led by its President, Joseph Wayas, on charges of contempt. In what became a cause celebre, Momoh established the right for his paper to protect its sources. In a 1983 editorial the Nigerian Daily Times said "..the rate of corruption, bribery, indiscipline, immorality, cheating, idleness, drug addiction, armed robbery, smuggling and other vices has currently assumed an alarming proportion in this country".

Onyema Ugochukwu had risen through the ranks, becoming the first editor of the Business Times before going to London in 1983 for a four-year stint as Editor of West Africa magazine. When he returned in 1987 he was appointed editor-in-chief of the Daily Times. In April 1990, the editor of The Punch was arrested for publishing a cartoon that implied Nigerians were unhappy that a recent attempted coup by Gideon Orkar had failed. As president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Ugochukwu coordinated a campaign to persuade the government to release The Punch's editor. Ugochukwu played a conciliatory role between the press and the military government until he resigned from the paper as Executive Director of Publications in 1994.

Circulation steadily declined as the administrations of Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha tightened control over the newspaper in the 1990s, and the public turned to livelier independent publications. The newspaper was mismanaged. On 16 December 1998, shortly before the return to civilian rule, hundreds of workers of the Daily Times began an indefinite strike because their salaries were five months in arrears. Under the civilian administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Bureau of Public Enterprises started the process of returning the Daily Times to private ownership. After a failed attempt at a public offer (IPO), the Daily Times Nigeria Plc was advertised for sale in 2003. In 2004 Folio Communications was approved as the preferred bidder, gaining control with 96.5% of shares.