By JOHNSON EBIGIDE
The incumbent President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Christopher Ikechukwu Isiguzo, alongside some contestants for the other portfolios in the leadership of the union has been elected to pilot the affairs of the union for the next three years in the country.
The election which took place during the 7th Triennial National Delegates Conference at the Michael Okpara Auditorium, Umuahia in Abia State saw Comrade Isiguzo clinching the presidential position for a second term with a whooping 665 votes, beating his rival, Comrade Yusuf Idris who trailed far behind with 15 votes, out of the total accredited 702 delegates, with 22 void votes recorded, in the exercise.
The exercise also produced comrades Opakamba Dokubo and John Ebiarede Angese as the Zonal Vice President (VP) and the Secretary of the Zone F respectively of the union. While Ronke Samo emerged unopposed as B Zone Zonal President.
Out of the total accredited delegates of 140, Comrade Dokubo got 99, beating Nene Affia, who polled 40 votes, while Comrade Angese humbled Comrade Stanley Gbalipre Imgbi with 107 to 33 votes respectively.
Other available results included those of Zone A with Tukur as the Vice President with 37, leaving his only opponent with one vote and Abdulrazak as the Secretary who got ahead with 35 votes, leaving his opponent, Zainab, with a consolatory one vote.
From the Zone D emerged Atsaka as the VP with 91 votes, while the duo of Atabor and Iliya trailed behind with 56 and 14 votes respectively, just as Aji from Kogi State edged out Fadeyi of Kwara State with 104 to 51 votes respectively as the Secretary of the zone.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the conference, Comrade Isiguzo maintained that his first tenure in office had positively taken the union from a dismal level to an appreciative height in the country, adding that not only was the welfare of members taken seriously, but the building of their capacity through regular training within and outside the country got top attention.
He said that his administration had tackled the unwholesome non regular payment of salaries of some journalists working in some media organisations in the country, adding that it was responsible for the unethical practices of the affected journalists who, he said, had made the profession laughable in the society.
The union leader added that measures had been put on ground through the issuance of automated identity cards to registered members of the union to checkmate the ravaging quackery in the Journalism profession in the country, just as he disclosed further that not only had the administration built the necessary connecting bridges with critical stakeholders within and outside the country for the advancement of the union.
The Chairman of the Delta State Council of the union, Comrade Michael Ikeogwu, led the delegates and observers from the state to the conference.