The Abia State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, maybe headed for the rocks as a new executive has allegedly emerged without any election.
The new executive members were allegedly inaugurated by the National Vice President, Southeast Ifesinachi Emmanuel with Victor Ndukwe emerging the Chairman for a second term in office at an undisclosed location in Umuahia.
While journalists gathered before 6am at the state secretariat of the union for the scheduled elections at 10am, little did they know that there was an underground plan to secretly inaugurate an unelected executive.
The wait lasted till 3:45pm when the supposed new Chairman, Victor Ndukwe arrived the venue with a tricycle popularly known as keke, picked two of his men, locked up the secretariat and left without a word to whether or not the elections was to hold ot not.
Journalists were only greeted with the pictures of the inauguration at an undisclosed location and allegedly sworn in by the zone vice Chairman, Ifesinachi Emmanuel.
From the pictures, it was realized that one Ikechukwu Onuegbu who was initially disqualified by the screening committee was inaugurated as the new secretary leaving much to be desired.
The screening committee had disqualified Ikechukwu Onuegbu and Adaeze Ralph-Igbokwe on grounds of not meeting the constitutional conditions of attendance by their nominators and themselves.
This decision by the committee left only Ndukwe as the candidate for the chairmanship position but many were left to wonder why neither him nor the committee who were all said to have resigned their positions intimated the union of the date and time of the elections.
Abia NUJ secretariat was like a war zone when members gathered only to meet fierce looking DSS and Police officers who later left after hours on end. We are yet to know on whose instruction they came.
More worrisome is the fact that the press, the mirror and conscience of the society. The ones who consistently hold government and those in authority accountable for her ill behaviors has suddenly become a place where the rule of law and constitution are ignored and due process not followed.
One also wonders if the union in Abia which is struggling to regain her right of place among other professional bodies nationally , would find a foot in what played out today or could it be likened to comment from the Abia State House of Assembly that the order is from above.
The union in the state may be headed for the rocks and serious crisis in the coming days as members gear for rejection of the said inauguration.
Only time will tell.
