Chairmanship aspirant for Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Adeleye Ajayi, on Saturday said he is in the race for the forthcoming election to bring the union back on track.
Ajayi, a Deputy Editor-in-Chief with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), contested the Lagos state NUJ chairmanship position in 2017 but lost by 16 votes.
In a statement kick-starting his campaign for the September 29 Lagos NUJ Election on Saturday, the NAN editor promised to serve the union dispassionately if given the opportunity.
According to him, the essence of leadership is the protection of the interest and welfare of all members of the union.
“As the 2020 campaign kicks off toward the state council election, I give praise to God the Giver of llife, the Giver of power and the Giver of all.
“Three years ago, I contested and promised to serve the union diligently but not getting the post of Chairman then was the will of God.
“I am stepping out again to contest the election into the position of the Chairman.
“It is time we bring our union back on track, return the spirit of camaraderie and sustain the lives of our members by injecting several welfare programmes,” said Ajayi, a former National Financial Secretary of the union.
The aspirant said that there must be a lasting solution to the Mowe Ofada Pen Jewel crisis.
“I share the pains with those affected as I am also a subscriber.
“Those who subscribed either in naira or dollars must, as a matter of priority, get their money back; we shall approach the problem from all directions.
“Those awaiting land allocation must also be attended to,” he added.
Ajayi said that if given the mandate by the union members, efforts would be made to stabilise and put the union revenue on a sustainable footing.
“On revenue drive, we cannot be living by the sea and be complaining about lack of water. If by God’s Grace I win this election, we shall adopt effective and innovative revenue strategies.
“Added to these, there shall be professional development of our members through training and retraining.
“These are just ‘a tip of the iceberg’ from the numerous programmes I intend to implement; my entire manifesto is loaded with lots of goodies for our esteemed members,” he said.
Ajayi, who promised to play by the rules during the campaign, said that the four-week campaign before the election would be vibrant.
He assured that his campaign would basically be based on issues and devoid of rancour and mudslinging.
Ajayi restated his believe in collective responsibility in administration.
“Come Sept. 29, 2020, by God’s Grace, we shall cross the Red Sea together as we shall sail to victory,” the NAN editor said.
Ajayi was a former secretary of NUJ, NAN Lagos Chapel and a former Ex-Officio of NUJ, Lagos Council.
NAN reports that the 2020 Lagos NUJ General Elections Credential Committee on Friday lifted ban on campaigns ahead of the forthcoming elections.
The committee, headed by Mr Debo Adeniji, said that the campaign started on Friday and would end on Sept. 27.
The committee urged all candidates to note that they could be disqualified if they breached the campaign process.
