Osun Correspondents’ Chapel warns National Body of NUJ against conducting fresh Election

The Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Osun State Council, has rejected the nullification of the state council’s election by the National Secretariat of NUJ.

The union however called on the national body of NUJ to uphold the earlier election, warning that any attempt to conduct another election in Osun state may polarize the union in the state.

The Correspondents’ Chapel in a communiqué issued after its Special Congress held on Friday, March 4, 2016 described the February 10, 2016 election as peaceful, free, fair and credible.

“Our Chapel maintains that it was wrong for the National Secretariat to have annulled the election despite the fact that the result of the election was generally acceptable to all members of our union in Osun State including the losers who embraced and congratulated the winners after the election.

“Our Chapel fells that if there was any petition concerning the election, the decision on the annulment could only have been taken by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of NUJ.

“We observe that any attempt to conduct another election in Osun NUJ
now will not promote love among our colleagues but create hatred, enmity, division and polarise the council.

“The Chapel fells that the annulment of the election indicates that some elements at the National Secretariat have their preferred candidates which they want to impose on NUJ members in Osun.

They noted that the election was properly conducted and supervised by three National officers of NUJ including the Deputy National Secretary, Mr Gbenga Bamidele; the Vice President B Zone; Mr Cosmas Oni and a National Trustee member, Mr Bamgbola Gbolagunte who represented the NEC while the Chairmen of Ogun and Ondo State Councils, Wole Sokunbi and James Showole were also among observers that monitored the election, adding “all these top NUJ officers pronounced the election as free, fair and credible, after which the elected officers were sworn.

“The Correspondents’ Chapel vehemently opposed the role played by the Vice President B-Zone, Mr Cosmos Oni when he shouted down senior journalists as if they were nonentities and refused to allow members of the union to express their views, before and during the exercise.
“It is unbelievable, unthinkable and ridiculous to discover that the same Cosmas Oni, who agreed with the Osun NUJ electoral body (NUJECO), co-signed, and approve the delegates’ lists used in the election, is the same individual who wrote to support a frivolous petition against the result of the election.

They however appealed to the National Secretariat of their union, in the interest of integrity, justice, fairness and posterity to uphold the result of the election.