THE COUP BY THE NATIONAL SECRETARIAT IN LAGOS NUJ ~ The Press Tv

That the Lagos NUJ Council election did not hold as planned is no longer news.

That the election was derailed by the National Secretariat is a GOSPEL TRUTH.

Another truism is that the National Secretariat wrote the drama script that was acted yesterday.

Ordinarily, I wanted to keep quite and watch the dance of shame by the National Secretariat, but history will not forgive me if I fail to talk. I chose to talk because l am not the man who died in Professor Wole Soyinka’s novel, “The Man Died.”

I challenge every National Officer of the NUJ and Exco of the Lagos Council who was part of the peace meeting that was called by security operative to speak up and tell Lagos Journalists and indeed Nigeria Journalists why the peace meeting ended in deadlock and the election had to be put off. If they are men and women of conscience who truly worship God, let them speak up or forever bury their heads in shame.

Every parent pray for their children to surpass their achievements but this is not the case of the NUJ national. It want to destroy Lagos Council and unfortunately it has the support of some members to do so.

ACT ONE.

The meeting was in progress when colleagues who were handpicked to cause disruption started to make the meeting rowdy and shouting at the presiding Chairman. They could not even wait patiently for the meeting to end and the house dissolved before acting out their script. When the place became rowdy, the security men called the chairman aside to ask for the cause of the rowdiness. Iyabo the Treasurer even went to meet the Chairman and told him to first dissolve the exco before attending to the security operatives. If this is a lie, I challenge Iyabo to swear in the name of God Almighty or what ever she believes in that I am lying. The Chairman explained the cause to the security operatives who demanded to have a meeting with the entire exco and National Officers. Fillers from the meeting was that they should agree for every Journalist who had come for the election to vote since people who are being disenfranchised are demanding to vote.

ACT TWO

While the meeting was going on some people constituted themselves and started voting. The question then is who by the NUJ constitution is supposed to conduct State Council election? Article 6 (6) states that State Council elections shall be conducted by the National Secretariat or persons nominated or appointed by the National Secretariat. The question again here is that since all the appointees/nominees of the National Secretariat were at the meeting with the security operatives, who were the persons conducting the election on their behalf? In case they lie that they delegated the powers to some persons, does the Constitution allow for such delegation of power by whom power was delegated to?

The decision to postpone the election came from who and who announced the postponement? Was it by the Chairman of the State Council, Dr. Qasim Akinreti?

The people who arrogated the powers of the National Secretariat to themselves and went ahead to conduct the election, did they behave like genuine journalists or tout? Do they deserve to be punished for anti-union activities or not? Who are they and who are their sponsors?

ACT THREE.

When the kangaro election by those acting the script of the National Secretariat was botched, the plan B was to hurriedly hold a SEC meeting with members in the pocket of the National Secretariat to foist a Caretaker Committee on the Union. To achieve this they have to hurriedly add the National Secretary, VP Zone B, and some others to supervise the illegality and give it a stamp of authority. Where in the NUJ Constitution is it written that National Officers shall be conscripted into the SEC of a State Council to plan and execute a coup like was done in Lagos. Some of us who got wind of it dis-associated ourselves from it. We raise questions that non of the actors could answer. Personally, I drew the attention of the National Secretary, Mr. Usman Leman. For the purpose of posterity, I hereby re-produce my WhatsApp message to him.

Good evening sir. I just onbserved that Opeyemi Akorede added you to Lagos SEC platform today and right now they are holding a kangaro SEC meeting in which they planned to suggest names of members for an illegal Caretaker Committee.

It is unfortunate that this is happening right under your nose.

I have always said it that the crisis in Lagos is instigated by the National Secretariat and this is one example.

SEC meeting is Chaired by the state Council Chairman and that Chairman has been removed from that platform.

As National Secretary,, is that the right thing?

That was my message to Mr. Leman.

Back to our discuss, that is the desperation of the National Secretariat to distabilize Lagos. I have had to write an open letter to our National President on this issue on September 25. I do not want to bother us by reproducing that letter here. I will repost it after this piece.

Let me also say with all sense of honesty that the plan to foist a Caretaker Committee was hatched a long time ago, and I pointed it out in a News Conference that I addressed on September 20. Again I do not want to bother us by reproducing it as the text of the said News Conference was well circulated. I can also republish it after this piece.

So, what happened was pre-planned and a script by the National Secretariat.

If it was not why did the National Secretariat not respond to any of the plethora of petitions sent to it? Why was it bent on disenfranchising check-off paying members? Why did it instruct the VP of B Zone not to verify people who pay two thousand Naira professional fees as stipulated by the Constitution and the circular it sent on it? I will also repost the circular by the National Secretariat.

Why did the National Secretariat refused till date to publish the certificates it relied on to clear people to contest the election in line with the provision of our constitution?

All these are clear indication of desperation to act a scripted drama. It is now clear the insubordination of the Lagos exco to the Council Chairman was at the instigation of the National. So also is their holding the Council to ransome by refusing to sign cheques.

Let me say this and who ever cares should go and write it down.

What is happening in Lagos is the battle for the Presidency of the NUJ in 2021. In the estimation of people who are desperate for power, Lagos must be captured at all cost. On their drawing board Lagos under Dr. Akinreti will only do what the constitution stipulates, so, they need to dislodge him and install a puppet.

Mark it down, in August of 2021, NUJ will have a brand new President, not from the South East, South West or South South. Whoever emerge Chairman of Lagos Council cannot change that.

Also, go and note it down and let no man be deceived, the Kangaro caretaker committee will not conduct any gaddam election in three month. There plan is to ensure that the committee will be there till a month or two to the Triennial Delegate Conference of next year.

I want them to disprove me.

In conclusion, what is/are the sins of Dr. Akinreti?

He is obedient to the constitution he swore to uphold.
Transparency.
Honesty.
Delivering on his electoral promises.

It is on record that less than three hundred thousand Naira was in the purse of NUJ when Dr. Akinreti became Chairman, today as you read this script about eight million Naira is in the NUJ accounts.

Let us all come to equity with clean hands.

Thanks and God bless you for reading this piece till the end.

You have a choice to after reading this withdraw from the bus of destruction to the bus of the progressives.