The National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dr. Chris Isiguzo, has reaffirmed that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council election of the union will hold as scheduled on December 4, 2024, despite petitions and legal distractions.
Speaking with journalists at the NUJ National Secretariat in Abuja, Dr. Isiguzo assured that the election processes were proceeding smoothly. “The situation in the FCT Council of our union, I don’t think there’s any problem.
The processes for election are ongoing as stipulated by the NUJ constitution,” he said. He elaborated that the FCT Council had complied with the constitutional requirements by nominating members of the electoral committee through their Congress.
However, he noted that the council delayed providing details of the nominees to the National Secretariat. “We wrote to the FCT Council to avail us with the details of their electoral committee nominees. As of now, two weeks have passed without a response. I’m not sure what they were trying to achieve with that delay,” he added.
Addressing petitions from some members of the FCT NUJ Council, Dr. Isiguzo disclosed that all three submissions were reviewed and dismissed for lack of merit. “We subjected their petitions to the union’s internal mechanisms, and they were found baseless.
The three members of the electoral committee were revalidated,” he explained. On legal attempts to halt the election, Dr. Isiguzo criticized a lawyer’s request for the process to be paused, noting that the Industrial Court has yet to formally hear or mention the case.
“Three days ago, we received court documents from a lawyer asking us to halt the election. As a law-abiding institution, we accepted them, but it’s important to note that the court has not issued any injunction. A lawyer cannot substitute for the judiciary by writing to stop an election without a court ruling,” he asserted.
He further emphasized that the union’s constitution remains the guiding framework for resolving disputes. “If you take the union to court without exhausting internal mechanisms, you’re acting contrary to our rules. I swore to protect the NUJ constitution, and I won’t let it be undermined,” he said.
Dr. Isiguzo concluded by affirming that the FCT Council election would proceed as planned. “There is no legal injunction stopping this election. The election must take place on December 4, 2024, as scheduled,” he affirmed.
The NUJ President called on members to respect the union’s constitution and avoid actions that could derail its democratic processes.
