By Rotimi Famakin
Ahead of the forthcoming election of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Oyo State Council, the Zonal Director, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, Ibadan Zonal station, Mr Dominic Mokikan, has called on the chairmanship candidate on the platform of “Great Minds”, Mr Akeem Abas, to uphold the truth and be magnanimous if elected.
Mr Mokikan stated this while receiving Mr Abas and his campaign team at the conference room of the Broadcasting House, Radio Nigeria, Dugbe, Ibadan.
The Zonal Director said the failure of past leaders of the union to see election in a simple way had led to conflict and selfishness.
“Be magnanimous in victory and be gracious in defeat. This is the way the union should be. If there is no gracious in defeat, it will lead to acrimony and if there is no magnanimity in victory it will lead to winners takes it all.”
In his reaction, Mr Abas said he is contesting for the position of Oyo NUJ chairman to rid the union of junks and restore professionalism.
He noted that members of his team were carefully selected, having examined their level of professionalism, character and the media organisations they work for.
Mr Abas had earlier at the Studio One of the Broadcasting House, pledged to prioritize the welfare of members through subsidized food items and training of members on Artificial intelligence, AI which he said was capable of rendering media professionals jobless in the future if not considered.
He maintained that the union would hold a joint press week annually with two days set aside for National Association of Women Journalist, NAWOJ, and Sports Writers Association, SWAN.
Commenting on the agenda of the team, the Campaign Director General of the Great Minds team, Mr Lekan Shobowale said his team would preserve the legacy of NUJ, end junk journalism, and also ensure the welfare of members.
The Deputy Director, News and Current Affairs Department, FRCN, Ibadan Zonal Station, Mr Adewumi Faniran urged the chairmanship candidate to restore the lost standard that the journalism profession is known for.
“Let sanity prevail. If your team is fortunate to come on board, make sure you sanitise the union. The era of impersonation should be made a thing of the past.”
The Head of Department, Corporate Development and Communication, FRCN, Ibadan Zonal Station, Mr Steven Agbaje said the Great Minds team possesses great manifestos, which he said would help the union to attain the desired standard position in the comity of unions in the state.
One of the candidates contesting for the secretary of the union, who is also a staff of FRCN, Ibadan Zonal station, Mr Dayo Adu pledged to contribute meaningfully towards achieving the mandate of the great mind team.
While commending the corporation for the opportunity he had leveraged to progress further in his journalism career, Mr Adu appealed for full support of staff members to enable his team win the forthcoming election.
The Oyo NUJ election comes up on December 9, 2025.
