Kaduna NUJ Affirms Suspension Of 4 SWAN Members

BY AMOS TAUNA, KADUNA – The Kaduna State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has affirmed the indefinite suspension slammed on four members for deliberate acts of violating its rules and procedures.

The affected members were suspended by the Union following their flagrant disobedience of the NUJ National Secretariat’s directives stopping them from participating in the just-concluded factionalised Triennial Conference of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) that held simultaneously in Abuja and Port Harcourt.

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of an emergency congress of the Union held on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at the State secretariat in Kaduna.

The communique signed by the Council Secretary, Comrade John Femi Adi, listed the suspended members as: Isaiah Benjamin of Leadership Newspapers; Abdulraheem Audu of Blueprint Newspapers, Jacob Dickson of New Nigerian Newspapers and Zakari Isa of Kaduna State Media Corporation.

The communique further reads; “After careful deliberations, the Congress resolved that the four members of the Kaduna State Council were warned not to attend the SWAN elections slated for Abuja and Port Harcourt at the last Congress.

“That NUJ Kaduna State Council has no alternative than to respect and obey the directives to suspend indefinitely those who disobeyed the directives of the national Secretariat of the Union.

“That the Council has also accepted and recognised the suspension of Isaiah Benjamin, Abdulraheem Aodu, Jacob Dickson and Zakari Isa by Kaduna SWAN.

“That a seven-man Caretaker Committee has been set up to steer the activities of Kaduna SWAN. That the Caretaker Committee will be headed by Mr. Jacob Zango of Kaduna State Media Corporation as Supervisor and Abdulwaheed Adubi as Secretary pending when they will organize an election within 90 days.”

Before the commencement of the congress, the Chairman, Comrade Adamu Yusuf ordered Mr. Isaiah Benjamin and Jacob Dickson out of the hall because, they have disqualified themselves to be part of the meeting by aligning themselves with Port-Harcourt SWAN Triennial Delegates conference and in their words “Divorced” themselves as NUJ Affiliated SWAN members.”

Yusuf told members that the Congress was called to affirm the directives of the NUJ National Secretariat on those who disobeyed the order and attended the Port Harcourt and Abuja SWAN Delegates conference.

The Congress was presented with the three letters from the NUJ Secretariat which were issued on the directive of the National Secretariat stopping the SWAN factions from holding their congresses until the contentious issues were resolved.