Thirty-two out of 48 registered members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Plateau State Council, have rejected the purported inauguration of new officials of the chapel, describing the process as unconstitutional and lacking due process.
The members, in a letter dated August 14 and addressed to the National President of the NUJ, Comrade Alhassan Yahaya, said they rejected the emergence of Mr Douglas Francis of Arise TV as Chairman, Mr John Farinola as Vice Chairman and Miss Comfort Pius as Treasurer.
The letter, which was signed by the 32 members and made available to journalists in Jos on Saturday, alleged that the trio were inaugurated without an election, describing the action as an “imposition and illegal inauguration” of officials.
According to the members, the crisis started after the Plateau State Council rejected and disqualified members of the credentials committee constituted by the chapel’s congress over an alleged dispute concerning the payment of “lump sum” check-off dues to the union.
They said the chapel, in an effort to resolve the disagreement amicably, convened an emergency congress where another credentials committee was constituted to conduct the election.
However, the members alleged that the electoral process was subsequently subjected to what they described as undue interference by the state council, leading to the resignation of the chairman and members of the reconstituted credentials committee, as well as other contestants.
They said the development eventually left Douglas Francis 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 members said the state council constituted a three-man caretaker committee comprising three former chairmen of the chapel Mrs Tongnan Bawa, Mr Yemi Kosoko and Mr Isaac Shobayo allegedly acting on directives from the NUJ National Secretariat.
The caretaker committee, they said, was given two weeks to conduct an election and subsequently released a timetable and guidelines fixing the election for Thursday, August 13, 2026.
The 32 members, however, alleged that the caretaker committee, three days before the scheduled election, organised what they described as an illegal inauguration of Francis, Farinola and Pius, claiming that it had concluded its assignment.
They further alleged that nomination forms were not openly sold to interested members, questioning the transparency and credibility of the process that produced the purported new officials.
The correspondents also accused the Plateau State Council of selectively applying provisions of the NUJ Constitution, arguing that while strict constitutional compliance was being demanded in the affairs of the Correspondents’ Chapel, similar standards were allegedly not applied to other chapels.
They cited the Plateau Publishers’ Chapel as an example, alleging that its chairman did not meet the constitutional requirements for the position but was nevertheless inaugurated by the state council.
The members also raised questions over the eligibility of some state council officials, particularly Mr Pam Musa of New Telegraph, the council’s Vice Chairman, who they alleged was seeking re-election to the same position. They said they had consequently lost confidence in the state council’s ability to mediate or supervise the resolution of the crisis.
The 32 members said they had boycotted activities of the Plateau State Council pending intervention by the NUJ National Secretariat, urging the national body to constitute an independent committee to investigate the dispute and facilitate a credible, transparent and constitutionally compliant election.
They also said that, pending resolution of the crisis, they had appointed Mr Shittu Tanko, Mr Dickson Adama and Mrs Asile Emmanuel to spearhead the affairs of the chapel.
They appealed to the national secretariat to restore normalcy, investigate the alleged imposition, withdraw any leadership arrangement made without a valid election, conduct a fresh election and review the eligibility of Mr Pam Musa to contest the council’s vice-chairmanship.
The members reaffirmed their commitment to democracy, fairness, transparency and due process, while urging all parties to avoid actions capable of worsening the crisis.