Plateau NUJ Crisis Deepens as 32 Correspondents Reject New Leadership, Petition National Secretariat

The leadership crisis in the Plateau State Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has taken a new turn, with 32 out of 48 registered members rejecting the emergence of three newly inaugurated officials and petitioning the union’s National Secretariat for intervention.

The members rejected the purported inauguration of Mr Douglas Francis of Arise TV as Chairman, Mr John Farinola as Vice Chairman and Miss Comfort Pius as Treasurer, insisting that no valid election was conducted to produce the trio.

In a petition dated August 13, 2026, and addressed to the NUJ National President, Comrade Alhassan Yahaya, the members described the development as an alleged “imposition and illegal inauguration” and called for urgent national intervention to restore constitutional order in the chapel.

According to the petition, the crisis began after the Plateau State Council rejected and disqualified members of a credentials committee constituted by the chapel’s Congress over issues relating to the payment of “lump sum” check-off dues.

The members said an emergency Congress subsequently constituted another credentials committee in an attempt to facilitate an election. However, they alleged that interference in the electoral process by the State Council led to the resignation of the committee members and the withdrawal of some contestants.

They claimed that Francis was left as the only contestant four days before the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent executives on July 27, 2026.

Following the expiration of the tenure, the State Council reportedly appointed a three-man caretaker committee comprising former chapel chairmen Mrs Tongnan Bawa, Mr Yemi Kosoko and Mr Isaac Shobayo, citing directives from the NUJ National Secretariat.

The caretaker committee was mandated to conduct an election within two weeks and subsequently released a timetable fixing Thursday, August 13, 2026, for the election.

However, the petitioners alleged that rather than conduct the scheduled election, the caretaker committee organised what they described as an “illegal inauguration” of Francis, Farinola and Pius three days before the proposed election date.

They also alleged that nomination forms were not openly sold to interested members, questioning the transparency and credibility of the process.

The 32 members further accused the Plateau State Council of selectively applying provisions of the NUJ Constitution, arguing that constitutional requirements should be applied uniformly across all chapels and officials.

They cited the Plateau PPC Chapel, alleging that its chairman did not meet constitutional qualification requirements but was nevertheless inaugurated by the State Council. They questioned why, according to them, stricter standards were being applied to the Correspondents’ Chapel.

The petitioners also raised questions concerning the eligibility of some Plateau State Council officials, citing Article 3, Section 3(a) and (b) of the NUJ Constitution and calling for national clarification on the provisions.

They said they had lost confidence in the Plateau State Council’s ability to mediate or supervise the dispute and disclosed that they had boycotted Council activities pending intervention by the National Secretariat.

The members therefore called on the national leadership to constitute an independent committee or other appropriate body to investigate the allegations and establish a credible, transparent and constitutionally compliant process for resolving the crisis.

They further maintained that the Correspondents’ Chapel currently has no substantive leadership and cannot continue operating in a leadership vacuum.

Pending resolution of the dispute, they said they had appointed Mr Shittu Tanko, Mr Dickson Adama and Mrs Asile Emmanuel to spearhead the affairs of the chapel.

Among their demands, the petitioners asked the NUJ National Secretariat to investigate the alleged imposition and inauguration, withdraw any leadership arrangement not produced through a valid election and conduct a fresh, credible and constitutionally compliant election.

The 32 members reaffirmed their commitment to democracy, fairness, transparency and due process, while urging all parties involved to avoid actions capable of further escalating the crisis.