Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has not only waded into but resolved the crisis in the Enugu State council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, which culminated in the rejection of the COVID-19 palliative given by the state government to journalists.
Revealing this was the state council chairman of the NUJ, Comrade Rex Arum, while addressing newsmen at the NUJ, Press Centre, Rangers Avenue, Enugu.
Arum said that the governor increased the quantity of the items he earlier gave to the council, which included bags of 25kg rice, cartons of spaghetti, cartons of noodles, cartons of tomato paste, gallons of groundnut oil, tubers of yam, and some bags of semovita and made it clear that he was not part of the problem of the NUJ, and that he recognises the Rex Arum-led executives.
Promising to henceforth deliver every gesture for journalists in the state through the state executive, Arum thanked theNational President of the NUJ, Comrade Chris Isiguzo, for his quick intervention into the matter, adding, “Every quarrel about the distribution has been resolved.”
He added that there was no issue on the palliative items given to veteran journalists in the state, adding that “those veterans are the foundation of this union.”
Expressing appreciation to Ugwuanyi, a journalist with the Federal Ministry of Information, Adaeze Stephanie Udeh, appreciated his wading into the crisis and resolving it and also for his recognising of the Arum-led executives.
Enugu State NUJ General Secretary, Comrade Amaka Agbo, had in a statement on Monday, May 18, 2020, told members of the state council that the crisis in the council and the attendant problem over the palliatives have been resolved, adding that the state government has delivered palliative to the council which has been received.
Recall that on Saturday May 16, Enugu State NUJ members had rejected the palliatives which included tubers of yam, bags of rice, cartons of noodles, cartons of tomato paste and gallons of groundnut oil, over a controversy of who will take delivery of the items, whether it is the council chairman or another journalist; as well as the sharing formula to be adopted in the sharing.
