Hajia Asma’u Halilu of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), on Monday emerged as the Chairperson of the Correspondents Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna State Council.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Halilu is the first female elected to head the correspondents chapel in the North.
The new Chairperson, who emerged unopposed, pledged to offer inspiring leadership that would carry all members along.
She noted that her election along with two other women, was an endorsement of the ability of women to lead for the collective interest of all members.
Halilu explained that their election was made possible by everyone’s overwhelming support and encouragement.
“This support is an indication of the love you have for me to serve in this capacity.
“As new leaders, we solicit for your continuous support to succeed in this task; we will always consult within the chapel, as well as with the State Council and other stakeholders to achieve giant strides.
“In our tenure, we shall prioritize the welfare of members, we will also collectively be like the mother hen who will be responsible for every member.”
She assured that every member would be properly taken care of, to the best of her ability.
“We will carry out journalism training and explore other capacity building opportunities for chapel members, this will be pursued to ensure ethics and standard practice of the profession is upheld.
“We will do our best not to over rely on individuals and organisations for income. In due course, we shall run businesses to sustain the income of the Chapel.
“We intend to introduce a vibrant cooperative where members can save money, as well as access loans easily.
“We shall set up a system that will address cases of misunderstanding and misgivings among members,” the chairperson added.
She promised to reach out to aggrieved members in order to unite the chapel.
Halilu expressed gratitude to the National body, the State Council and the outgoing Chapel Exco for their support.
“I will not forget the women folk who rallied around me and added their voices to this clarion call, in Sha Allah, I will make us proud”, she said.
Also speaking, National Ex-officio of the NUJ, Comrade Garba Muhammad, commended the women folk for the giant stride.
He assured the new officials of the national body’s support and urged them to work as a team in order to move the chapel to higher level.
In his remark, the Secretary of NUJ Kaduna State Council, Mr Femi Adi, called for unity among the chapel members, and assured them of the state council’s support.
He urged them to work hard together with congress members to inculcate the sprit of comradeship toward moving the chapel to greater height.
NAN reports that other officials elected include Mr twMoses Kolo and Miss Stella Kabruk, both of News Agency of Nigeria, as Secretary and Treasurer, respectively, and David Onuoja as Financial Secretary.
The rest are Miss Rahila Abdullahi of Leadership newspaper and Gambo Abubakar of Legacy newspaper, as Assistant Secretary and Auditor, respectively.
