NUCJ Inaugurates New Executives

On the 24th of January, 2020, new executives of the National Union of the Campus Journalists were sworn in. This signifies the end of an administration and the beginning of another tagged: The Avant-Garde Administration. 

The previous administration, led by Ibrahim Adeyemi, resumed office in June 2019, and up until the 23rd of January, 2021, managed the organisation’s affairs.

The handover followed an online election which was held on the 23rd of January, 2020. The election, which allowed only registered representatives from University Chapters to vote via the election portal, took place from 9 am to 12 pm closely monitored and followed by the electoral committee.

Uthman Samad, who led the election committee, explained that the pandemic made the committee opt to bring everyone under one roof, virtually. That was conducting the election and other necessary steps online.

He said, “On a normal day, schools travel wide and near to elect their leaders at the national level of the union, but because of Coronavirus, that could not happen this year. However, we spent less than $50 to conduct the election and its management, which would have been triple of it if we were to meet physically.”

In the end, he concluded that the election was a challenge well won by the electoral committee.

The newly elected President, Ajala Samuel of FUOYE who won against Abdulazeez Abdulbasit of FUTA said the dream to serve NUCJ did not start recently. It is an ambition he has been nursing for the past three years. 

“I ran for office because of the passion and desire to reposition the union to greater heights. I want to see a NUCJ where members hold school management and community leaders accountable to promote students’ interest. I want to see a NUCJ where campus journalists are key contributors to national development. I want to see a NUCJ where my members are key stakeholders in society when it comes to youth development. Most importantly, I want to create a legacy for the next generation of campus Journalists in Nigeria.’

When asked what organisation members should look forward to in this administration, Ajala urged members to look forward to more opportunities, capacity building, networking and media projects.

Other executives who emerged winners include Eze Glory Chikadibia who emerged as the Vice President, Uchenna Igwe as National Secretary, and Nurudeen Akewesola, Publicity Secretary.