Ikpeazu Lauds NUJ, Isiguzo for Peaceful, Transparent Election

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

The Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has expressed delight over the successful conclusion of the seventh triennial delegates conference of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) hosted in Umuahia, the state capital.

In a congratulatory message to the newly reelected NUJ President, Christopher Isiguzo, the governor equally lauded the union for the peaceful and transparent manner the election was conducted.

He thanked NUJ members for the confidence they reposed in Isiguzo, whom he described as “an illustrious son of Abia State.”
In a statement issued by the state Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, Ikpeazu also commended the over 1,000 delegates who came to Umuahia for the orderliness they exhibited all through the conference.

Ikpeazu further expressed delighted that journalists across the country came to Abia State “for such an auspicious gathering which among other things availed them the opportunity to see that Abia is still one of the safest states in Nigeria as well as enjoy the hospitality of the people of the state.”

There had been heightened apprehension among delegates following the sinister campaign mounted by Isiguzo’s opponents who claimed that Abia State was unsafe to host the 2021 triennial conference of NUJ.

They had also tried to use the court to scuttle the conference but the ex-parte injunction they obtained at the Ibadan zone of the National Industrial Court was eventually vacated just before the conference commenced.

The governor, while pledging his administration “continued partnership with the NUJ in particular and the media in general,” urged Isiguzo “to leverage on his wealth of experience to ensure that journalists in the country continue to raise the bar in their professional practice.”

Isiguzo, who is the Enugu State correspondent of THISDAY, Nigeria’s foremost newspaper, mounted the leadership of NUJ in 2018 when he defeated the incumbent, Waheed Adesina, at the sixth triennial conference held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.