Aggrieved member sues NUJ, president over alleged plan to elongate tenure
An aggrieved member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abdulwaheed Adubi, has sued the union and its president, Chris Iziguso, over an alleged plan of tenure elongation.
Adubi, a member of the NUJ, filed the suit at the National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja.
The claimant, who intends to participate in the 8th Triennial National Delegates Conference scheduled for November in Imo, alleged that the union was acting in violation of some provisions of its Constitution 2023 (as amended).
The claimant, in the suit marked NICN/ABJ/328/2024 dated Sept. 9 and filed Sept. 10 through his lawyer, Ibrahim Bawa, SAN, sued the NUJ and Iziguso as 1st and 2nd defendants.
He averred that the NUJ National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Aug. 9 lacked the power to extend the tenure of the members of the Central Working Committee (CWC), whose tenure is expected to terminate on Oct. 6.
In the suit, he relied on Article 5(a)(3) of the NUJ Constitution.
According to the provision, the Triennial National Delegates’ Conference shall be held every three (3) years at venues to be decided by the NEC for the purposes of receiving and reviewing reports and accounts; revising the constitution if and when necessary; deciding on questions of general policy raised upon notice by any member, chapel, or council to the NEC through the national secretariat of the union; and electing national officers of the union.
It will be recalled that the Chris Isiguzo-led CWC members were elected on October 7, 2021, with the mandate of a three-year tenure that would come to an end on Oct. 6.
Adubi stated that the tenure elongation orchestrated by Isiguzo was a gross abuse of the constitution of the NUJ.
He alleged that the leadership of the union deliberately violated the NUJ Constitution by not putting in place the Credentials Committee three months before the expiration of its tenure as provided for in the constitution.
The claimant, a Kaduna-based journalist, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve the CWC of the NUJ in the overall interest of the union.
He also urged the court to dissolve the Credentials Committee over non-compliance with the provisions of the NUJ Constitution and for gross abuse of the union’s body of laws.
Heprayed the court to allow chairmen and secretaries of councils to take over the affairs of the union as of Oct. 6 and put in place machinery for the conduct of the election within three months as provided for in the constitution, among others.
