The National President, Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Dr Chris Isiguzo, has stated that the December 4, 2024, Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, council election remains sacrosanct.
Dr. Isiguzo who stated this during a chat with some journalists who visited to make enquiries at the NUJ National Secretariat in Abuja, said the process was going on smoothly and everything to make it hold has been put in place.
He said: “The situation in the Federal Capital Territory Council of our union, I don’t think there’s any problem.
“The processes for election are going on smoothly because the FCT Council leadership, in line with the constitution of NUJ, made their nominations through their Congress and they sent the list to us.
“It is the responsibility of the National Secretary to go through the list they have sent to ensure that it complies with the relevant sections of the constitution, and that we did.
“We wrote to the FCT Council to avail us with the details of the people they nominated as electoral committee members.As we speak, two weeks after, they didn’t write to the National Secretary. And I don’t know what they were trying to achieve by that.
“However, he said the National Secretariat received some petitions from some members of the FCT NUJ Council, but all three petitions lacked merit and were dismissed.
“We, of course, subjected their petitions to the internal mechanism of the union, and we found out that the petitions lacked merit, and they were accordingly dismissed completely. So the three members of the electoral committee were revalidated.
“So I can tell you for sure that whatever they are doing in the council has the implicit endorsement of the National Secretary of the union.
“We have a constitution that has been reviewed. In the past, it was not explicitly stated that the National Secretary should be the supervisory body for councils in terms of elections, electoral committee, and all that.
“But now it is clear, it makes it a lot easier. So that has been done, and I think they are going on smoothly. Of course, the elections will still go ahead as scheduled”, he said.
According to the National President, a lawyer also wrote the National Secretariat saying all the process should be halted as the matter is now at the Industrial Court, but he (Isiguzo) said the lawyer do not have such powers to stop the election, which he pointed out that the court is yet to mention the supposed matter nor given hearing.
“Some three days ago, they brought court processes to the National Secretary, which, of course, as a law-abiding institution, we receive, we don’t decline.
“And the only thing is that when we went through, we discovered that a lawyer was writing us and asking us to stay in action. I don’t know when lawyers started doing that, playing the role of the judiciary. If you have gone to court, you also allow the court to make pronouncements.
“And as we speak, there is no court pronouncement. The date for, before hearing this, what is called mention has not even been listed. So the matter has not even been listed. When it is listed and given to a judge at the industrial court, that a date will be assigned for mention.
“After that, another date will be assigned for hearing. But the lawyer immediately wrote us and was like, don’t do anything, whatever you do will be sub-judice. I don’t know when lawyers started dispensing interlocutory or injunction or interim injunction as the case may be.
“I have never heard that before. I am not a lawyer, maybe that is the new normal. Where lawyers now write and tell you once they have instituted a matter at the court, they now tell you don’t do anything?
Then it makes no sense of the court. If a lawyer can write and say don’t do anything, that means there is no need for the court to hear the matter anymore.
“So as we speak, there is no injunction anywhere that stops the election of the FCT. But the last communication we had was that they should go ahead and do their job, and you know that the election must take place on the 4th of December”, he affirmed.
On members who drag the union to court, the National President stated that “if you go to court without exhausting the internal mechanisms, the union has spelt out what should be done. I swore to protect and defend the constitution of the NUJ and I am not going to input my own words. The constitution of the union is very clear. And I believe the union has its own way of ensuring the constitution of the Nigeria Union of Journalists is not turned to a tissue paper.”