By Amarachi Michael
Comrade Samson Nwafor, the Ebonyi State Correspondent of Independent Newspapers, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the State.
Nwafor’s election took place during a bye-election held to fill the vacancy created in the chairmanship position of the union following the appointment of former Chairman, Comrade Tony Nwizi, as the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Francis Nwifuru on ICT.
The National Vice President, Zone C (South East) of the NUJ, Comrade Emmanuel Ifesinachi, witnessed the bye-election and administered the oath of office to Nwafor, officially making him the substantive Chairman of the state NUJ.
Ifesinachi commended the members of the union for conducting a hitch-free election and urged them to remain united, praising Ebonyi NU Council as pride of the South East.
In his acceptance speech, the newly sworn-in Chairman, Nwafor promised to run an all-inclusive administration and solicited the cooperation of all council members to move the union forward.
“I want to tell us that we are on this journey together. This is a journey to better our welfare, this is the journey to be more united as a council. It is a journey for friendship, it is a journey that we must join hands together to ensure that we achieve success,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the immediate past Chairman of the council, Comrade Tony Nwizi, congratulated Nwafor, stating that his emergence was a clear manifestation that power belongs to God.
“It is very unfortunate that, out of sheer desperation, some few instigated non-members of our great Union to drag our hard-earned image into an unfounded controversy, but I thank God that we were all resolute and undeterred in our unanimous resolution to retain the Fourth Estate of the Realm in its envious position not only in Ebonyi State but also across Nigeria.
“I thank the NUJ Ebonyi State Council for maintaining utmost decorum while the brouhaha lasted.
“Even though the tongue-lashing only existed on a sponsored WhatsApp platform, let us find a place in our hearts to forgive all those who have cast aspersions on us; they are not members of NUJ and therefore have limited knowledge of the workings of our great Union.
“Our constitution is the grand norm that drives the affairs of our Union, and we could not have cast stones on our own glass house. I, therefore, charge you to use your good offices to review all that has happened recently concerning our Union in Ebonyi State, vis-a-vis the Ethics and Disciplinary Committee. As the immediate past Chairman of the Council, I am going to make my report available to the National Secretariat,” he stated.
