Following the outrage that greeted the botched April 20th, 2017 Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council election, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS), to governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr Charles Ehiedu Aniagwu, who was alleged to have boasted to install with his last penny his preferred candidate as new chairman of NUJ, has finally authenticated his boast to install a candidate come May 25th, the new date for the rescheduled NUJ election in the state
Aniagwu, who had earlier denied bragging that no member of the Union in the state or any government official with interest in the election would be able to stop him to have his own candidate installed as the new chairman of NUJ in the state, as well as boasting to march anybody ‘money to money’ or ‘power to power’, confirmed his boast during interaction with some NUJ members.
The CPS, this medium reliably gathered has one of the chairmanship candidates in the NUJ election, in the person of Mr. Fidelis Egugbo, a staff of the Delta State Printing and Publishing Company (DPPC), publishers of The Pointer Newspapers and government house correspondent who was alleged to bowed to management pressure and resigned as chairman of The Pointer Chapel.
When Aniagwu was earlier contacted on the boasting allegations to install his own candidate as the new NUJ chairman in the state, he had said, “I have no voting right in Delta State NUJ. Moreover, the NUJ chairman is not going to serve me, he will serve NUJ. Why should I think of installing someone? he asked.”
But, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, made a U-turn when he met Mr. Paul Osuyi, the Secretary of the five man committee set up by the National body to midwife the election that would bring on board new leadership of the Council.
HardReporters reliably learnt that the CPS during his conversation with the secretary told him, “Forget that I have somebody I am supporting, you are not fighting, you are supposed to call the past chairman for debrief on what and what have been done so far and what is on ground for the committee to leverage on”.
The CPS, it was learnt, queried the Secretary for the Committee’s inability to ask questions especially as it relates with the NUJ Secretariat that is ongoing among other things which the past executives are supposed to handover to the Committee to take-off the responsibility given to them
to ensure a smooth conduct of the election.
Meanwhile during the Workers Day celebration (May Day), in the state, the CPS called on members of the NUJ to seize the May 25th opportunity for the fresh election to ensure that a peaceful election devoid of rancour was conducted.
“I am sure that whoever you are going to elect, will not be a carpenter but a journalist who will lead you. I hear in all corners that I shared drinks and money to woo supporters. In fact, I will come again and still share drinks on that day”, the CPS boasted.
It would be recalled the CPS was seen sharing drinks and money to delegates during the botched April, 20th Delta state NUJ election.
