The newly elected executive of the Delta State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), has held its maiden exco meeting where critical decisions were taken, especially the need to reposition the union in the State.
The Chairman, Comrade Michael Ikeogwu, who in his inaugural speech, congratulated everyone who made it to the Council’s Executive, sought the cooperation of all for sustained peace and synergy towards a more virile union.
The exco resolved to reunite every aggrieved member based on the infractions created by the recent election so as to be able to carry everybody along in the actions and inactions of the Council.
One of the decisions taken was the appointments of two Ex-Officio; Comrade Sam Erhunwunsee of the Correspondents’ Chapel Asaba as Ex-Officio 1 and Comrade Emeke Chukwujindu of DBS Asaba Chapel as Ex-Officio 2.
In another development, the Executive paid an unscheduled visit to the State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, to thank him for the critical role he played towards resolving some issues in the build-up to the Council’s election as well as also ensuring a peaceful and successful NUJ election in the state.
According to the NUJ Chairman, “We just came to say thank you sir for the role you played to ensure we had a peaceful and successful Council election. We want to assure you of our commitment towards continued partnership with your office with a view to ensuring a vibrant and responsible Union in the state.
“We have outlined a number of projects for execution in the next three years as we hit the ground running, bearing in mind that your support and assistance cannot be underestimated”, Ikeogwu posited.
Responding to the Chairman’s speech, Mr Aniagwu said it was good to have the Executive together after a very fierce election.
He said as fierce as the election could be, it would turn to sweetness when all members would have been genuinely reconciled and reunited.
Aniagwu stressed that the Executive needs every member under the umbrella body of NUJ to be able to perform and fast-track critical projects that would progress and bring more development for the Union.
“When your full executive must have been constituted, you need to call a congress to further reach out for a truce. You need everybody’s views especially on the past election so as to ascertain their needs and plan on how to meet them.
“We will get involved to see that your Secretariat is completed in the next six months. Our getting involved means that whoever is the contractor would know that there is government backing, so as not to falter and undermine the exigency of the project.
“On your own, you must look critically at disciplining erring members to gain the confidence of the public. Now that you have a compendium, you must also put a measure in place for continuous registration of members, especially those who couldn’t meet up with the past verification and registration exercise. I look forward to a more robust relationship with the Council. Thank you”, Aniagwu affirmed.