By Amos Aar
THE Benue State Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Comrade Emmanuel Antswem, has been elected as Chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benue State for a 3-year tenure.
The election of the new Exco followed the expiration of Comrade Tor Vande Acka’s tenure.
Announcing the results of the various elections conducted on Monday at the Correspondents’ Chapel office in Makurdi, Chairman of the credentials committee, Comrade Sunday Ogli who is the Correspondent of the Nigeria Pilot Newspaper said, Anstwem polled eleven (11) votes out of the 20 total votes cast to defeat his co-contestant, Hembadoon Orsar, of the Leadership Newspaper who scored nine (9) votes.
Other four (4) elected officials of the new Exco include Comrade Onyeje Abutu-Joel also from NAN, vice chairman, Comrade Titus Atondu of the NewsDirect, Secretary, Comrade Cephas Iorhemen of the New Telegraph, Assistant Secretary, and Comrade Scholastica Hir of The Sun as Treasurer.
Presenting certificates of return to the new officials, NUJ Vice Chairman, zone D, Comrade Chris Atsaka, tasked the new leadership to be guided by the NUJ constitution.
Atsaka who expressed confidence in the Antswem-led new Correspondents Chapel’s Exco charged them to strive to build on the legacies of the past Exco even if their achievements cannot surpass their predecessors’.
Responding after he took oath of allegiance alongside other Exco members, Comrade Emmanuel Antswem promised to fulfil all his campaign promises.
Antswem assured that he will carry all members of the Correspondents’ Chapel along and provide equal welfare for all of them and will do everything in line with the NUJ constitution.
He expressed appreciation to his co-aspirant, Hembadoon Orsar, for making the Congress worthwhile.
In his speech, the outgoing Chairman of the chapel, Comrade Tor Vande Acka, who urged his colleagues to extend the same cooperation accorded him to his successor, presented the scorecard of his three years stewardship to include securing of an office for the Correspondents’ Chapel, provision of thirty (30) seats and two fans among other tangible achievements.
Reacting to the conduct of the election on the sidelines, former NUJ state chairman, Comrade Martins Kajoh, described the exercise as transparent, assuring that he was poised to guide the younger ones to succeed.
Earlier before the conduct of the elections, Chairman of the credentials committee, Comrade Sunday Ogli, explained that the process of electing the new Exco was kick started by the congress a few weeks ago with the setting up of the Credentials Committee.
He said the Credentials Committee advertised the sale of forms for the different elective offices in the Chapel and at the end of the day, three people picked form for the position of Chairman while the positions of Vice Chairman, Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer all had single contender.
According to Ogli, nobody picked form for the offices of the Financial Secretary and Auditor.
He disclosed that during the screening exercise, the outgoing Chairman of the chapel, Comrade Tor Vande Acka, stepped out of the contest for personal reasons, leaving two people vying for the chairmanship seat and the list of screened aspirants was posted for a period of one week for members of the Chapel to make claim and objection.
“In the absence of claim and objection, the Credentials Committee published the cleared list of candidates vying for the election with two contestants for the office of Chairman and the four contestants standing unopposed.
“A bye election will be conducted for the offices of the Financial Secretary and Auditor today after the main election or by the incoming-exco”, Ogli intimated.
Comrade Aloysius Umalo of the Voice of Nigeria and the Blueprint’s John Shiaondo suggested that the old Exco be dissolved.
Consequently, Comrade Philip Dzeremo of NAN moved for the dissolution of the Tor Vande Acka-led Exco and was seconded by the Vanguard’s Peter Duru.
The Congress therefore dissolved the old Exco and paved way for the elections which held concurrently with accreditation of voters.
