NUJ Under Siege In Osun,  As Govt Sets To Emasculate It’s Leadership 

There is a fresh revelation on the move by the Osun State Government to emasculate leadership of the  Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) and it’s affiliates, as two ranking members of the union in the state were hurriedly redeployed  from their  newroom to classroom.

The duo,Mrs.Motunrayo Ayegbayo who is the State Chairperson of the National Association of Women’s Journalists NAWOJ works in the television newsroom of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, Ile-awiye, Oke-Baale, Osogbo while Mr. Adeyemi Aboderin, who is the State Chairman of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN works in the newsroom of the OSBC-NEW DAWN Television, Ibokun.

In a circular Ref.No.DMD.306/28 dated 12th of April,which originated from the office of the Head of Service(Public Service Office) and Signed by K.N.Akintola for the Permanent Secretary and titled” Formal Secondment of Some Public Servants With Educational Qualifications To The State Teaching Service” which was copied to various agencies and establishments of government, the circular noted that  “In line with the Unified Public Service(UPS) in the State of Osun and in line with the decision of the State Executive Council (EXCO) the Head of Service has approved the Secondment of the following Public Servants to the State Teaching Service”.

The name of Tunrayo Ayegbayo appeared on number 9 on the list and posted to Osogbo Government High School, Osogbo while that of Adeyemi Aboderin followed on number 9 and posted to Community Middle/High School,Ota-Efun,Osogbo.

The list contained 71 names of Public Servants reportedly  drawn from various agencies, establishments and parastatals. It directed the affected to report to their respective Permanent Secretary/Tutors-General with immediate effect.

The listing of both Ayegbayo and Aboderin was believed to have emanated from some unscrupulous elements within the rank of the Interim Board and Management of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation. Some staffers of the Corporation who spoke on condition of anonymity linked the listing of the duo with the roles played by both before,during and after  the last Osun NUJ election won by the incumbent, Abiodun Olalere.

According to the source, some are still aggrieved with the emergence of the incumbent Abiodun OLALERE and saw the circular as an opportunity to have their own pound of flesh on these  perceived opponents who are staffers of the News Department, hence, the move without recourse to the current status of the duo as union leaders. 

The names were  pushed to the office of the Head of Service, who unknowingly collated all the names submitted by various agencies and department together.

It was discovered that two other names added to it from the OSBC was to give a bit of credence to the action but their direct targets were the duo of Ayegbayo and Aboderin.

Ayegbayo joined the services of OSBC in 1997 as a freelance journalist while her appointment was regularised in 1999.

Aboderin, on the other hand joined in 1993 as a Cameraman/ Transmission Director. Through dedication and commitment to self-development, he obtained a National Certificate in Education in English Language and Political Science from the College of Education, Ilesain 1998. He did not stopped at that,he pursued process courses in line with the demand of his calling and obtained both Advance Diploma Certificate in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic,Ibadan in 2001 and Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the International Institute of Journalism, Abuja in 2005.He proceeded to the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University,ile-ife where he obtained a B.Sc degree in Political Science in 2013.He has completed his M.Sc degree program in Political Science from same university since last year. All the latest educational qualifications were ignored by the power that be at OSBC and instead dusted the one obtained in 1998 just to get at their targets.

Unfortunately, both Ayegbayo and Aboderin were victims of the inglorious retrenchment exercise carried out by the administration of Bisi Akande in the year 2000 and for 45 months were out of service but were recalled when Olagunsoye Oyinlola took over in 2003.

CityMirrorNews also gathered that, the redeployment of duo was as a result of perceived activities of both Ayegbayo and Aboderin in their capacities as heads of the two NUJ affiliations.

Oyagbayo since her emergence as the Chairperson of the association has embarked on various activities  such as Weekly lectures, visitation to some notable places among others

CityMirrorNews gathered from reliable source that in an editorial meeting recently held at OSBC, Ayegbayo was accused to have been working for the opposition party, this according to the information was as a result of the guests been brought to her weekly lectures majority of which were chieftains from the opposition party.

Another information have it  that the new policy has been on ground since the tenure of the former HoS, Sunday Owoeye who was said to have refused to implement the directive allegedly given to him by the state government.

The department circular